A startup, with Eric Trump serving as an adviser, is experimenting with humanoid robots in Ukraine. Its goal is to have them deployed on US front lines within a year and a half.

      TL;DR: Foundation has sent humanoid robots to Ukraine and secured $24 million in contracts from the Pentagon. Eric Trump serves as its chief strategy adviser. Warren criticizes this as “corruption.”

      Foundation Future Industries, a startup based in San Francisco and established in 2024, deployed two of its Phantom MK-1 humanoid robots to Ukraine earlier this year. This is said to be the first deployment of humanoid robots in a combat setting. Supported by the US government and conducted alongside Ukrainian officials, the tests aimed at logistics in dangerous environments.

      CEO Sankaet Pathak stated to CNBC that the MK-1 tests demonstrated the robots' capability to carry out supply pick-ups that currently endanger soldiers. The robots can transport around 44 pounds but lack waterproofing and sufficient battery life for prolonged use.

      Foundation intends to dispatch upgraded Phantom 2 units to Ukraine later this year, which Pathak claims will have “superhuman abilities” and double the cargo capacity. The company is aiming for front-line deployment with the US military within the next 12 to 18 months.

      The political aspect is significant. Eric Trump, the sitting president's second son, has recently taken on the role of chief strategy adviser at Foundation. The company has secured $24 million in research contracts from the government for feasibility assessments in inspection, logistics, and weapons handling. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren has accused this as “corruption in plain sight.” A spokesperson for Foundation noted that Eric Trump had been an investor before his advisory role, and both parties aspire to revive manufacturing in the US.

      Pathak is notably associated with Synapse, a fintech platform that went bankrupt in 2024. Foundation has also faced scrutiny for suggesting close ties to General Motors, claims which GM later denied. The company's credibility is under question.

      Supporters of humanoid robots argue their utility in urban combat scenarios. “Modern urban combat environments with stairwells, ladders, basements, and narrow corridors are designed for human movement,” pointed out Kateryna Bondar, a senior fellow at CSIS. Humanoid systems may outperform tracked or quadruped robots in such cases.

      However, critics highlight concerns regarding cost and complexity. “Creating humanoid robots is a challenging and expensive engineering task,” said Melanie Sisson from the Brookings Foreign Policy program. “What we’ve learned from Ukraine is the necessity for rapid adaptation and affordable manufacturing.”

      The conflict in Ukraine has already served as a primary testing ground for AI and robotics in combat. Ground robots are tasked with supplying the front lines, while autonomous drones carry out precision attacks. The war is generating operational data that cannot be replicated in peacetime conditions.

      The European defense-tech sector is progressing swiftly with autonomous strike systems. Berlin's Stark is raising €300 million at a €2.5 billion valuation for kamikaze drones, while Destinus produces 2,000 cruise missiles annually through a joint venture with Rheinmetall. These companies create weapons specifically designed for their roles, while Foundation aims to adapt humanoid robots for similar tasks.

      Pathak mentioned that certain weaponized applications of the Phantom robots will require human verification in the decision-making process. In urgent scenarios, the robots will need to make independent decisions. The ethical ramifications of autonomous lethal decision-making remain internationally unresolved.

      Foundation's aspirations are considerable. Pathak plans to scale up production to thousands of units this year, with the objective of delivering “the best robots we can build” to the US military, surpassing anything available from China. China has its own leading humanoid robotics firms and has publicly supported military robotics initiatives, though the full scope of its trials is uncertain.

      The larger humanoid market is diverging into distinct use cases. 1X produces home robots priced at $20,000, while Colin Angle designs companion robots with bear cub ears. Foundation is focusing on robots that can transport supplies through combat zones. The underlying technology is consistent, but the uses are vastly different.

      Toby Walsh, chief scientist at the University of New South Wales AI Institute, predicts that tracked, flying, and underwater robots will replace human forces before humanoid robots do. “Anticipating humanoid, terminator-like robots might be a concept from science fiction,” he said. The era of AI robots in warfare is approaching, and whether they need to resemble humans to function is the question Foundation is seeking to answer through its $24 million in government contracts.