Foundation
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Foundation (also known as Foundation Future Industries, and formerly Foundation Robotics Labs or Foundation Future) is an American robotics company based in San Francisco, California, United States, developing humanoid robots for both industrial and military applications. Founded in April 2024 by Sankaet Pathak, Arjun Sethi, and Mike LeBlanc, Foundation is notable for producing the Phantom MK1, one of the first humanoid robots built explicitly for combat use. The company has attracted attention for its rapid development timeline, dual-use (civilian and defense) strategy, deployment of robots to the conflict in Ukraine, and a series of Pentagon research contracts secured within roughly two years of founding.[1][2]
Foundation operates from a manufacturing site in San Francisco it calls "Robo Factory 1," with additional engineering presence reported in Munich. The company has positioned itself as a vertically integrated builder, designing its own actuators, software stack, and assembly process in-house.[3][8]
Foundation was co-founded in April 2024 by Sankaet Pathak (CEO), Arjun Sethi (CEO of Tribe Capital), and Mike LeBlanc (co-founder of Cobalt Robotics and a 14-year veteran of the United States Marine Corps). Pathak was previously the CEO of Synapse Financial Technologies, a banking-as-a-service fintech company that filed for bankruptcy in 2024 before he pivoted to robotics.[1][2]
The company launched with approximately $11 million in pre-seed capital led by Tribe Capital, with participation from additional early investors. After follow-on funding in early 2025, Foundation's total disclosed funding reached approximately $21 million.[2][6]
In August 2024, Foundation acquired Boardwalk Robotics, a small robotics outfit whose proprietary cycloidal actuator technology became central to the Phantom platform. Through Boardwalk, Foundation also inherited roughly $10 million in pre-existing US government contracts, including a $1.8 million Air Force award, which helped position the startup as an approved military vendor.[2][3]
In October 2025, Foundation publicly unveiled the Phantom MK1, a humanoid robot designed for combat, industrial work, and other high-risk applications. The company delivered its first production humanoid roughly 13 months after founding, a pace that drew industry attention given that most humanoid programs spend longer in prototyping.[3]
In February 2026, Foundation deployed two Phantom MK-1 humanoid robots to Ukraine for battlefield trials, according to co-founder Mike LeBlanc. The units were tasked with reconnaissance and logistics rather than direct combat, but the deployment was widely reported as the first known field test of a US-built humanoid in an active war zone.[4][9]
In early 2026, Foundation was reported to have secured roughly $24 million in research and SBIR contracts spanning the US Army, Navy, and Air Force, focused on breaching scenarios and high-risk operations. The company was simultaneously reported to be raising a new round at a valuation exceeding $3 billion. Eric Trump joined the company as Chief Strategy Adviser, a hire that drew political scrutiny from Senator Elizabeth Warren and others.[2][5]
| Date | Event | Amount or detail |
|---|---|---|
| April 2024 | Company founded | Sankaet Pathak, Arjun Sethi, Mike LeBlanc |
| August 2024 | Pre-seed round led by Tribe Capital | ~$11 million |
| August 2024 | Acquisition of Boardwalk Robotics | Cycloidal actuator IP and ~$10M in government contracts |
| Q1 2025 | Additional funding round | Total disclosed funding reaches ~$21 million |
| October 2025 | Public unveiling of Phantom MK1 | First production unit delivered |
| February 2026 | Deployment to Ukraine | Two Phantom MK-1 units, reconnaissance and logistics |
| 2026 | Reported funding round in progress | Targeting ~$500M at $3B+ valuation |
| 2026 | Pentagon research contracts | ~$24M across Army, Navy, Air Force |
The Phantom MK1 is Foundation's flagship humanoid robot. It is a bipedal, full-size humanoid designed to operate in both factory and field environments, with technical choices oriented toward ruggedness, simplicity, and military adaptability.
| Specification | Details |
|---|---|
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) |
| Weight | 176 lbs (80 kg) |
| Upper body DOF | 19 |
| Actuator type | Proprietary cycloidal (rolling-contact) |
| Peak torque | 160 Nm |
| Back-drivability | Below 1 Nm |
| Walking speed | 1.7 m/s |
| Payload capacity | 44 lbs (20 kg) |
| Hands | Five-fingered |
| Vision | Multi-camera system, no LiDAR |
| AI | Large language model integration with imitation and reinforcement learning |
| Unit price | Approximately $150,000 |
| Lease price | Approximately $100,000 per year |
| Unique parts | About 500 |
| Sourcing | ~30% from China, remainder from US, Mexico, Israel, South Korea |
Foundation developed proprietary cycloidal actuators, originally acquired through the Boardwalk Robotics purchase, that deliver high torque (up to 160 Nm) while remaining back-drivable below 1 Newton-meter. The company claims energy efficiency of around 90 to 95 percent, compared to roughly 50 to 60 percent for traditional harmonic drives. The rolling-element design is intended to absorb shock loads, reduce wear, and provide the compliance needed for safe human-robot interaction.[3][8]
The Phantom's actuators are assembled by hand inside the San Francisco factory. Foundation also incorporates titanium rods in the shins to handle the high-vibration loads of bipedal walking.[3]
The Phantom MK1 uses a camera-only perception stack, with reports describing between six and eight cameras providing near-360-degree coverage. Foundation has chosen to skip LiDAR to simplify the platform, reduce cost, and improve compatibility with neural-network perception pipelines. Reporting from Humanoids Daily notes the cameras are used for both task execution and general safety awareness.[3][8]
The perception system is paired with a large language model layer that translates spoken commands such as "pick that up" into whole-body motions. Foundation describes its approach as hybrid AI: imitation learning for fine manipulation, state-based models that incorporate physics and task dynamics, and reinforcement learning for locomotion. Pathak has said that simple manipulation tasks can be trained in around 30 minutes of demonstration.[8]
The production Phantom MK1 ships with five-fingered, anthropomorphic hands. A next-generation hand prototype, internally called "Mach 2," uses a tendon-driven design with around 24 motors and bio-inspired DIP, PIP, and MCP joints. The Mach 2 hand allows finger abduction and adduction as well as flexion and extension, aiming to bring dexterity closer to that of a human hand.[3]
For military applications, the Phantom MK1 has been reported to include ballistic armor and a stealth coating designed to lower its thermal signature. The robot can carry up to 20 kg of equipment, which may include weapons, supplies, or sensors. Foundation has emphasized that armed configurations are envisioned as human-in-the-loop, similar to current military drone operations, with human operators retaining authority over lethal decisions.[1][6]
Foundation manufactures the Phantom MK1 at its San Francisco site, branded as Robo Factory 1. The factory features a largely manual assembly line, where workers hand-build actuators and integrate the roughly 500 unique parts that make up each robot. Approximately 30 percent of components are sourced from China, with the remainder drawn from suppliers in the United States, Mexico, Israel, and South Korea.[3]
Reporting on the company's leadership notes that its head of manufacturing previously led the Tesla Model X and Model Y production ramps, and that engineers have been recruited from Tesla, Boston Dynamics, SpaceX, and 1X. The factory is treated as both a production line and a learning environment, with the company iterating on actuator designs and hand prototypes alongside ongoing builds.[5][3]
Foundation has announced an aggressive ramp schedule for Phantom MK1 deployments. CEO Sankaet Pathak has described the timeline as ambitious, telling reporters there is a "non-zero chance" the company can hit its targets.[5]
| Year | Target units | Cumulative |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 40 | 40 |
| 2026 | 10,000 | ~10,040 |
| 2027 | 50,000 | ~60,040 |
| Steady state | 30,000 per year | n/a |
These targets imply roughly a 250-fold scale-up on the company's roughly $21 million in disclosed funding, which has prompted skepticism from analysts who note that established defense manufacturers such as ARX Robotics currently produce around 1,800 autonomous units per year.[2]
Foundation positions the Phantom MK1 for tasks where a general-purpose bipedal worker can substitute for human labor, including:
The leasing model, priced at roughly $100,000 per year per robot, is intended to compete with multi-shift human labor costs in industrial settings.[5][8]
Foundation's defense work is anchored by contracts originally acquired through Boardwalk Robotics, supplemented by newer Pentagon research awards across the Army, Navy, and Air Force. The company holds an SBIR Phase 3 designation, which qualifies it as an approved military vendor. Reported defense applications include:[2][3]
Foundation has been open about wanting to arm the Phantom platform under appropriate rules of engagement, a posture that distinguishes it from most other US humanoid startups, which generally avoid weaponization.
Foundation has drawn scrutiny on several fronts. In June 2024, CNBC reported that the company had used exaggerated claims about a relationship with General Motors in early fundraising materials, including references to large purchase orders that General Motors denied. Co-founder Mike LeBlanc later acknowledged the marketing material was embarrassing.[7]
Pathak's previous company, Synapse Financial Technologies, collapsed in 2024 amid disputed fund balances and a contentious bankruptcy, leading some investors and observers to approach Foundation with caution.[1]
The company's open embrace of military applications has generated debate within the robotics community, where companies such as Boston Dynamics, Agility Robotics, and Figure have publicly distanced themselves from weaponization. Foundation's deployment of robots to Ukraine in early 2026 intensified the discussion, as did the appointment of Eric Trump as Chief Strategy Adviser, which Senator Elizabeth Warren characterized as "corruption in plain sight" in the context of Pentagon contracts going to a politically connected vendor.[2][4]
| Name | Role | Background |
|---|---|---|
| Sankaet Pathak | Co-founder and CEO | Former CEO of Synapse Financial Technologies |
| Arjun Sethi | Co-founder | CEO of Tribe Capital |
| Mike LeBlanc | Co-founder | Co-founder of Cobalt Robotics, 14-year US Marine Corps veteran |
| Eric Trump | Chief Strategy Adviser (from 2026) | Businessman and son of Donald Trump |
Foundation is one of a growing group of US humanoid robotics startups, most of which focus on industrial and commercial deployments rather than defense. The table below summarizes how Foundation's positioning compares with several peers.
| Company | Headquarters | Flagship robot | Primary market |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foundation | San Francisco, CA | Phantom MK1 | Industrial and defense |
| Figure AI | Sunnyvale, CA | Figure 02 | Industrial, logistics |
| Agility Robotics | Salem, OR | Digit | Logistics, warehousing |
| 1X Technologies | Norway and California | Neo | Consumer and commercial |
| Apptronik | Austin, TX | Apollo | Industrial, logistics |
| Tesla | Palo Alto, CA | Optimus | Industrial, consumer |
| Boston Dynamics | Waltham, MA | Atlas (electric) | Industrial |