A Silicon Valley startup with ties to President Donald Trump's family is working on warfare-related devices that will reshape the battlefield in the future.
Concretely, Foundation Future Industries, a San Francisco-based robotics company, is developing human-shaped robots designed for industrial work and military operations.
According to a CNBC report, the company is already testing early versions of its technology in Ukraine, where autonomous systems have become increasingly important in the war against Russia.
"We're convinced the technology is reaching a level where it can replace jobs that are dangerous for humans to perform," Foundation CEO Sankaet Pathak told the outlet. "If you can do that, it's the highest net good you can create out of all applications of robotics."
Foundation was created after Pathak's fintech company Synapse collapsed into bankruptcy in 2024. He later teamed up with venture capitalist Arjun Sethi and robotics entrepreneur Mike LeBlanc to launch the new venture. Since then, the company has positioned itself as one of the few humanoid robotics companies openly pursuing military applications.
Earlier this year, the company sent two of its Phantom MK-1 robots to Ukraine for pilot testing. Foundation described the deployment as the first known use of humanoid robots in an active combat theater.
The tests focused on logistics missions, including retrieving supplies in dangerous areas where soldiers could be exposed to enemy fire. Pathak said the trials demonstrated the robots' ability to reduce risks to human personnel.
The current Phantom MK-1 models remain limited. They can carry only about 44 pounds, lack waterproofing, and have battery-life constraints that prevent large-scale deployment. However, Foundation says its next-generation Phantom 2 robot will double the payload capacity and feature what Pathak described as "superhuman abilities."
The company expects lessons learned in Ukraine to shape future deployments with the U.S. military. Foundation has already secured approximately $24 million in government research contracts related to logistics, inspection work, and weapons handling across branches of the U.S. armed forces, according to CNBC. Pathak said discussions with government officials have increasingly shifted from testing concepts to scaling deployment.
The startup's growing connections to Washington have attracted political scrutiny.
Earlier this year, Eric Trump joined the company as chief strategy adviser. A Foundation spokesperson told CNBC that Eric Trump had previously invested in the company and shares its goal of strengthening American manufacturing.
Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren has criticized the relationship, calling the company's government contracts "corruption in plain sight" because of its ties to the president's family.
Foundation rejects those concerns and instead frames its mission as part of a broader technological competition with China.
"The goal is to deliver the best robots we can build to the U.S. military, better than anything China has," Pathak told CNBC. The war in Ukraine has already showcased drones, unmanned ground vehicles, and AI-assisted targeting systems.
Experts say humanoid robots may offer unique advantages in environments designed for human movement. According to Kateryna Bondar of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, urban combat zones filled with staircases, basements, and narrow corridors could favor human-like machines over wheeled or tracked robots.
Melanie Sisson of the Brookings Institution told CNBC that Ukraine has demonstrated the value of inexpensive, adaptable technologies rather than costly and complex humanoid systems. She questioned whether human-shaped robots can ultimately compete with simpler alternatives already proving effective on modern battlefields.
While Foundation says humans will remain involved in most weapons-related decisions, Pathak acknowledged that some future military scenarios may require fully autonomous actions by robots when reaction times are critical.
