Foundation robot startup runs out of cash after founder borrows millions

Foundation Future Industries, a maker of military humanoid robots advised and backed by Eric Trump, failed to pay employees last month as its cash reserves dwindled, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter.

Workers have yet to receive paychecks after San Francisco-based Foundation missed payroll on Oct. 30, said the people, who asked for anonymity to speak candidly about a private company.

The situation has particularly angered some inside the startup because its CEO and co-founder, Sankaet Pathak, borrowed $4.6 million from the company last year to buy a luxury home, money that could have been used to pay workers, the people said.

Public records show that an LLC that names Pathak as sole principal purchased a $4.6 million Sausalito, California, property with “sweeping, cinematic views” of the San Francisco Bay in October 2025.

A spokesman for Pathak acknowledged receiving a detailed list of the major points from this story on Thursday, but didn’t respond to requests for comment. Pathak’s previous startup, a fintech firm named Synapse, collapsed in 2024, leaving thousands of Americans locked out of their savings accounts.

Foundation’s cash crunch comes at a precarious moment for the company, which Pathak has said is close to unveiling a next-generation, weapons-ready robot that will help the U.S. compete against Chinese rivals. At the same time, Pathak is seeking to raise hundreds of millions of dollars in funding at a $3 billion valuation.

The company has garnered headlines this year for Pathak’s claims that his robots could soon take on battlefield tasks in Ukraine or patrol the U.S. border with Mexico. Broadcast interviews and articles about Foundation also include claims that the company has won $24 million in Pentagon contracts.

“What we’re about to unveil in the next couple of months [is] going to be the strongest humanoid robot that exists anywhere in the world, including China,” Pathak said in an April television interview.

That April interview introduced Eric Trump, the son of the U.S. president, as a Foundation investor and chief strategy advisor. It is unclear how large his stake is.

Eric Trump and his brother Donald Trump Jr. have invested in an array of defense firms, including makers of military drones and autonomous weapons. A July Washington Post investigation found that startups backed by investment vehicles linked to the brothers had secured at least $3.2 billion in government business.

“We have to win robotics in the United States of America,” Eric Trump said in April. “When you go up and interact with these robots … they fist bump you, they high five you, they follow your commands.”

Eric Trump’s involvement in Foundation drew the swift ire of Sen.