en.Wedoany.com Reported - Foundation Future Industries, a robotics startup headquartered in San Francisco, plans to deploy upgraded humanoid robots in Ukraine this year for continued military testing.
The startup, which has ties to the Trump family, recently appointed Eric Trump, the second son of Donald Trump, as its chief strategic advisor. It has secured a total of $24 million in U.S. government research contracts to conduct feasibility tests for robotic inspection, logistics, and weapon operation across the Army, Navy, and Air Force. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren has questioned whether this constitutes a conflict of interest and corruption. Foundation responded that Eric Trump was already an investor in the company before joining, and that both parties share a strong alignment in the vision of bringing manufacturing back to the United States.
From the outset of its development, Foundation's humanoid robot has been explicitly designed for military applications, rather than household or service tasks. CEO Sankat Pathak stated that the company's core philosophy is that "humanoid robots need to be used to address humanity's greatest challenges." The company's goal is to mass-produce thousands of robots this year and conduct frontline field tests with the U.S. military within the next 18 months.
Foundation was founded in San Francisco in 2024. Founder Pathak previously led the fintech platform Synapse, which was embroiled in controversy and declared bankruptcy in 2024. After the bankruptcy, he co-founded Foundation with former Tribal Capital CEO Arjun Sethi and Cobalt Robotics co-founder Mike LeBlanc. The core product, the "Phantom MK-1," was shipped to Kyiv in crates this February to carry out missions.
The Phantom MK-1 stands 1.8 meters tall, weighs 80 kilograms, can carry a payload of approximately 20 kilograms, and moves at a speed of about 6 kilometers per hour, roughly equivalent to an infantry soldier. Its arms have 18 to 19 degrees of freedom, allowing it to operate weapons such as pistols, shotguns, and M-16 rifles. The robot uses proprietary cycloidal actuator technology, operates quietly, and has a thermal signature similar to that of a human, theoretically capable of deceiving enemy infrared targeting systems. Currently, two MK-1 units are performing frontline reconnaissance and material transport tasks in Ukraine. The company plans to deploy the upgraded Phantom 2nd generation to Ukraine this year. Pathak stated that the new robot's performance is comparable to "superhuman physical capabilities," with a payload capacity double that of the first generation.
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