Trump-linked robotics startup tests humanoids in Ukraine, targets U.S.

As Silicon Valley races to build humanoid robots that can fold laundry and pour a latte, at least one start-up sees a very different use for the technology: war or other potentially hazardous and deadly jobs. 

Meet Foundation Future Industries, a San Francisco-based robotics company with ties to the Trump family, developing ‘dual-use’ autonomous humanoid robots for both heavy industrial environments and military applications. 

While the robots sound like something out of a Terminator-esque science fiction movie, they are nearing reality, with early iterations undergoing tests in Ukraine for potential use in Kyiv’s war against Russia. 

Core to the company’s mission is the belief that humanoid robotics should be put towards humanity’s greatest challenges rather than household chores and service roles, Foundation CEO Sankaet Pathak told CNBC.

“I’m convinced the technology is reaching a level where it can replace jobs that are dangerous for humans to perform, and if you can do that, it’s the highest net good you can create out of all applications of robotics,” Pathak said. 

Though Foundation operates in an increasingly crowded humanoid field, its explicit embrace of potential military uses for its technology has set it apart.

But the start-up has set ambitious targets for itself, with Pathak planning to scale production to thousands of units this year, and to begin frontline testing with the U.S. military within the next 18 months.

The plans and the firm’s growing ties to Washington represent yet another example of how artificial intelligence and robotics are beginning to transform modern warfare and become a focus of national security. 

Pathak is best known for previously leading Synapse, a controversial fintech platform that declared bankruptcy in 2024. Soon after, he started Foundation with Arjun Sethi, former CEO of Tribe Capital and Mike LeBlanc, a co-founder of Cobalt Robotics.

Pathak’s latest venture has also attracted some scrutiny after the company suggested it had close ties to General Motors and could receive investment from the automaker, claims GM later rejected.

Foundation would eventually gain more global recognition earlier this year when it sent two of its Phantom MK-1 units to Ukraine for a pilot demonstration, marking what the company described as the first known deployment of humanoid robots in a combat theater.

The ongoing tests, backed by the U.S. government and conducted with Ukrainian officials, focused on logistics in hazardous areas.