Bio

Michael is Managing Director at Scale AI, leading corporate strategy and helping accelerate AI applications across industries.

Michael most recently served as the fourth Chief Technology Officer of the United States at the White House. As President’s top technology advisor, Michael led National initiatives on AI, quantum computing, 5G, broadband, and autonomous systems.

Michael previously served as Acting Under Secretary of Defense. As the third highest ranking official at the Department of Defense, Michael managed the largest research and development budget for a single organization in the world, supervising all research, engineering, development, and prototyping.

Michael was named to Fortune’s “40 Under 40”, is a WEF Young Global Leader, and is a recipient of the DoD’s Distinguished Public Service Medal. Michael was unanimously confirmed by the U.S Senate and is the youngest Under Secretary of Defense in history. Michael’s writings have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, WIRED, Bloomberg, and Fortune.

Prior to joining the White House, Michael was a Principal at Thiel Capital, where he invested in and advised technology companies. A South Carolina native, Michael graduated from Princeton University and served as a Visiting Scholar at Beijing’s Tsinghua University.