Portuguese 
English 
Spanish 
5 min of reading 
0 comments 
The American startup Foundation Future Industries, which has Eric Trump as a strategy advisor, develops dual-use humanoid robots for industrial and military tasks. The machines have already been tested in Ukraine, total 24 million dollars in contracts with the Pentagon, and are born with the goal of surpassing China.
While much of Silicon Valley is racing to create humanoids capable of folding clothes or making coffee, a startup from San Francisco decided to bet on a much more controversial path: using humanoid robots in dangerous and even lethal tasks. The company, Foundation Future Industries, openly advocates the military use of technology, a stance that distinguishes it from most competitors.
The project gained visibility this year, after the company sent two Phantom MK-1 model robots to Ukraine, in what it describes as the first known use of humanoids in a combat zone. Leading the company is CEO Sankaet Pathak, and among the names associated with it is Eric Trump, the second son of the President of the United States, Donald Trump, as a strategy advisor. The tests, supported by Washington, aim for contracts with the American Armed Forces in the next 12 to 18 months.
The startup that wants humanoids in war
According to information from the CNBC portal, founded in 2024 and based in San Francisco, Foundation develops dual-use humanoid robots, designed for both heavy industrial environments and military applications. For Sankaet Pathak, humanoid robotics should target humanity’s greatest challenges, not domestic or service tasks. The executive claims to be convinced that technology has reached a point where it can replace dangerous functions for people, which, in his view, would be the greatest possible benefit of automation.
-
Motorola closes billion-dollar deal and fully enters the global race against drones considered a security threat
-
While ports wait up to seven years for onshore electricity, three floating platforms can deliver clean electricity to large ships in a fraction of the time, eliminating the need for civil works, network reinforcement, and complex licenses, according to a consortium supported by the United Kingdom.
-
How gravity batteries can change the world by transforming weight, height, and excess energy into clean electricity
-
During the construction of a cargo terminal in the Northeast, workers stumbled upon the bones of a long-necked dinosaur about 20 meters long that lived 120 million years ago.
The goals are aggressive. The company intends to expand production to thousands of units this year and begin front-line testing with the United States military within 12 to 18 months. Industry reports also indicate that Foundation is seeking to raise hundreds of millions of dollars with a valuation in the billions, supported by manufacturing plans that depend on a huge scale-up compared to the current size of the operation. It’s an ambition that helps explain why military humanoids have become a national security issue.
Eric Trump at the center of the controversy
The point that drew the most attention was the entry of Eric Trump as the company’s chief strategy advisor. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren classified the company’s public contracts as a case of corruption in plain sight, precisely because of the proximity to the president’s family. The criticism put the spotlight on the relationship between the startup and Washington.
In response, a Foundation spokesperson stated that Eric Trump was already an investor before taking on the advisory role and that the partnership is based on the idea of strengthening the industry in the United States. This is not the company’s first controversy: it had already faced questions when suggesting close ties and a possible investment from General Motors, allegations that the automaker subsequently denied. For a company asking the Pentagon for trust to bring robots into combat, this credibility history matters.
Ukraine, the laboratory of combat robots
The choice of Ukraine as a showcase was no accident. The country has become one of the world’s largest testing grounds for artificial intelligence and robotics in combat. Over five years of war against Russia, it has started using ground robots to deliver supplies to the front lines, as well as autonomous drones and AI systems for reconnaissance and precision attacks. It was in this scenario that Foundation’s humanoids debuted.
According to the company, the two Phantom MK-1s sent performed logistical tasks in dangerous areas, such as collecting supplies that usually expose soldiers to risk. However, the current models are far from supersoldiers: they carry about 20 kilograms, have no water protection, and face battery limitations. The company promises to send the Phantom 2 this year, with double the load capacity and what it calls superhuman abilities. The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine declined to comment, and the United States Department of Defense did not respond.
Contracts with the Pentagon and the Race with China
In the financial field, the Foundation has already accumulated 24 million dollars in contracts for research with the United States Army, Navy, and Air Force, aimed at feasibility studies in inspection, logistics, and handling of weaponry. According to Pathak, conversations with the government have evolved from the research phase to discussions about expanding the use of robots, including in combat zones, if necessary.
The competition with China appears as a declared backdrop. Pathak says he wants to provide the American Armed Forces with robots better than anything China has. The Asian country hosts several of the leading companies in the sector and has already showcased AI robotic dogs and motion-controlled humanoids, although the real extent of its military tests remains uncertain. On the American side, the Pentagon has not yet announced the operational use of humanoids, and there are reports that current contracts do not authorize arming the machines.
Advantages, Doubts, and the Ethical Dilemma
Proponents of the technology argue that humanoids have an advantage because they navigate well in environments designed for people. Kateryna Bondar, a researcher at CSIS, notes that urban combat spaces, with stairs, basements, and narrow corridors, were designed for human movement, which could favor humanoid machines over tracked or four-legged robots. For military use, this dexterity would be a differential.
However, there are skeptical voices. Melanie Sisson, from the Brookings Institution, points out that making a robot resemble a human is expensive and complex, and that Ukraine taught the opposite: the advantage lies in manufacturing quickly and cheaply. Added to this is the ethical dilemma of autonomous decision-making when lives are at stake. Pathak says that most armed uses will maintain human confirmation, but admits that critical situations may require fully autonomous decisions. Scientist Toby Walsh, from the University of New South Wales, hopes that robots will replace human forces in the future, although he thinks it’s possible that the Terminator-style humanoid will remain just a fiction cliché.
The idea of metal soldiers straight out of fiction divides opinions: for some, humanoid robots can save lives by taking on the most dangerous missions; for others, they open a risky door to machines that decide on their own in combat.
Tell us in the comments if you would trust humanoids on the battlefield or if you think this race, especially with names like Eric Trump involved, deserves more brakes.
Be the first to react!