A startup with Eric Trump as adviser is testing humanoid robots in Ukraine. It wants them on US front lines within 18 months.

Foundation Future Industries, a San Francisco startup founded in 2024, sent two Phantom MK-1 humanoid robots to Ukraine earlier in the year for hazardous-area logistics tests with Ukrainian officials. The company said the deployment was the first known use of humanoid robots in a combat theatre, with US government backing. The robots can carry about 44 pounds but lack waterproofing and sufficient battery life for sustained operations. Foundation plans to send improved Phantom 2 units to Ukraine this year, targeting front-line US military deployment within 12 to 18 months. Eric Trump joined as chief strategy adviser, and the company received $24 million in Pentagon research contracts across the Army, Navy, and Air Force for feasibility testing in inspection, logistics, and weapons handling. Senator Elizabeth Warren called the contracts “corruption in plain sight,” while a spokesperson said Trump had been an investor before advising. Foundation’s CEO previously led Synapse, which declared bankruptcy in 2024, and the company faced credibility questions after claims of close ties to General Motors that GM rejected.

"The company described it as the first known deployment of humanoid robots in a combat theatre. The tests, backed by the US government and conducted with Ukrainian officials, focused on logistics in hazardous areas."

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