Just posted to my Forbes column: a deep dive into one of the most ambitious (and controversial) humanoid robot startups I’ve seen so far.
The piece looks at Foundation, a Silicon Valley company building a 5’9”, 180-pound humanoid robot called Phantom that’s designed for work in factories, warehouses, and other real-world settings … but also explicitly for the U.S. military. Founder Sankaet Pathak says Phantom could be leased for around $100,000 a year, work nearly nonstop, replace multiple human workers, and scale incredibly fast: up to 50,000 robots by the end of 2027. If it works, Foundation could become a multibillion-dollar company almost overnight.
One of the most striking moments came when Pathak explained why he believes humanoid robots belong on the battlefield:
“You should really work hard to give the U.S. military smarter tools so that they can be more effective.”
That includes scenarios where Phantom could be “first body in” during dangerous operations: carrying weapons, scouting buildings, or taking risks soldiers shouldn’t have to.
The article also wrestles with the bigger implications. Armed humanoid robots could make military action more precise and potentially reduce human casualties — but they could also lower the barrier to starting conflicts at all. Whether this tech ultimately deters war or accelerates it, the ethical questions are coming fast, and they’re not going away.