Foundation Future Industries, a start-up with early investment from Eric Trump, announced a technology partnership with Advanced Micro Devices to co-develop autonomous humanoid robots using AMD processors. Eric Trump, who has been an investor in the company since early this year, also serves as the start-up's chief strategy advisor.
Under the agreement - the financial terms of which were not disclosed - Foundation will employ AMD's Ryzen AI Embedded X100 Series processors, first introduced by the chipmaker in January of this year, as the compute backbone for Phantom MK-2, the company said.
Foundation, founded in 2024, said it has already deployed its initial production model, Phantom MK-1, which it reported helped in assembling more than 24,000 cars in 2025. The company outlined an aggressive production ramp: a factory opening in October capable of producing 5,000 Phantom units a year, followed by plans to begin construction early next year on a second facility designed for an annual capacity of 50,000 robots, according to statements from CEO Sankaet Pathak.
Pathak provided details on the start-up's commercial and government pricing. For industrial customers, the robots are leased, with an annual lease cost of roughly $100,000 per unit. For defense applications - including materials handling and reconnaissance - the company is developing robots that will be sold to government clients at a price of $300,000 each, Pathak said.
The involvement of Eric Trump comes amid heightened attention to the Trump family's investments in companies that operate in defense-related markets and frequently bid for government contracts. Those holdings have prompted scrutiny centered on potential conflicts of interest, particularly given the family's stakes in other defense and drone-related companies.
Foundation's wider portfolio connections include investments by Eric Trump and his brother Donald Trump Jr. in firms such as XTEND, Unusual Machines and Powerus, the company said.
Context and market implications
The partnership links a high-performance AI processor line with a robotics start-up that is pursuing both industrial automation and defense markets. The arrangement has implications for industrial manufacturing - where the company has already reported a measurable production contribution - as well as for defense procurement, where unit pricing is higher and sales are made directly to government entities.
Operational timeline
- Phantom MK-1 reportedly contributed to building more than 24,000 cars in 2025.
- October factory opening with an annual capacity of 5,000 Phantom robots.
- Planned construction early next year of a second facility targeting 50,000 robots annually.