Ex-Uber Exec Emil Michael: I'll Never Forgive the Investors

Emil Michael still has smoke for the investors who forced him and Travis Kalanick out of Uber. In a podcast interview with Kleiner Perkins, the current senior technology official at the Department of Defense made it crystal clear: he will "never forget" and "never forgive" the Uber backers who orchestrated their 2017 ouster.

Michael and Kalanick were pushed out during one of Silicon Valley's messiest corporate upheavals. The ride-hailing giant's investors moved aggressively to overhaul leadership amid a string of scandals that rocked the company.

Now sitting in a powerful DOD role overseeing technology, Michael apparently hasn't mellowed with time. The remarks are a rare public airing of grievances from someone who's moved from startup drama to national defense. Venture investors who bet on Uber — and then turned on its leadership — clearly left permanent scars.