Eric Trump-backed humanoid startup eyes lethal military robots
Original: A Humanoid Company Backed by Eric Trump Is Preparing Its Robots for War
Why This Matters
Militarized humanoid robotics represents a rapidly growing, high-stakes market at the intersection of AI autonomy and national defense.
Foundation Future Industries, a humanoid robotics startup founded in 2024 with Eric Trump as chief strategy adviser and investor, is developing lethal capabilities for its Phantom MK1 robot. CEO Sankaet Pathak told WIRED the company plans to unveil weapons systems within months, with current government contracts worth millions of dollars.
Foundation Future Industries, founded in 2024, is positioning its humanoid robot Phantom MK1 for military combat use. CEO Sankaet Pathak confirmed to WIRED that the company is actively exploring 'kinetic things'—a reference to weapons systems—and plans to announce something 'in the next couple of months.' Beyond combat, the company cites logistics, reconnaissance, and inspection as use cases.
Eric Trump, son of President Donald Trump, serves as both investor and chief strategy adviser. During an April 23 Fox Business appearance, Eric Trump praised the robots' capabilities and predicted broad impact across industry, military, and hospitality sectors.
Foundation acquired Boardwalk Robotics shortly after its founding, inheriting contracts and ties to the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC) in Florida. A Fox Business host cited a '$24 million Pentagon contract,' but WIRED found the government contracts shared by the company were inherited from Boardwalk and IHMC—not independently secured by Foundation.
The company says it has tested the Phantom MK1 with Ukrainian forces. The US military has long invested in humanoid robotics, including DARPA contests (2012–2015) and the Army's xTechHumanoids program. Globally, militaries are rapidly adopting autonomous systems, with legged humanoids seen as capable of navigating terrain and replacing soldiers in high-risk scenarios such as breaching buildings.