LOOK: Inside the startup aiming to build military-ready humanoid robots

Humanoid robotics startup Foundation Future Industries is aiming to build robots for defense as well as industrial work, with founder Sankaet Pathak telling Reuters the company eventually wants its machines to handle logistics, navigation and target identification autonomously, while requiring human approval before any use of force.

"Phantom" is Foundation's flagship humanoid robot, a 5-foot-11 (180-cm), 176-pound (80-kg) machine designed to carry loads of up to 88 pounds (40 kg) and move at speeds of up to 6.1 km/h (3.8 mph).

"Our vision with Phantom is to build a robot that can do both industrial and defense applications," Pathak said.

He added that Foundation is not currently working on target engagement, but said the long-term goal is for robots to take on more defense-related tasks autonomously.

"Eventually, yes, we want the robots to also be able to identify targets and then also use weapons," he said. "We do not see a scenario in which it bypasses human directive."

San Francisco-based Foundation describes Phantom as its first production humanoid robot and says it is designed for manufacturing and defense environments.

Pathak said the robot is designed to operate with onboard computing rather than rely on constant communication with an outside network, which he said could reduce cybersecurity risks.

"The robot does not require continuous communication," he said, adding that once a task is identified, it can largely carry it out on its own. He said that could reduce some networking-related risks, while hardware shutoff mechanisms provide another safeguard.

For now, Foundation is focused on non-lethal uses such as moving materials, handling logistics and carrying out manufacturing tasks. Pathak said the robot's body controller - the system that governs walking and movement - is already autonomous. "So the way the robot decides to walk and move is fully autonomous," he said.

Foundation is entering an increasingly crowded humanoid robotics market that includes Tesla's Optimus, Agility Robotics' Digit and Apptronik's Apollo, as companies race to deploy robots in warehouses, factories and other labor-intensive settings. Foundation, however, has been more explicit than many rivals about potential defense applications.

Pathak said Foundation plans to unveil a second-generation robot around April 2026 that is easier to manufacture at scale and hopes to ship thousands this year.

Production: Aleksandra Michalska/Jane Ross/Matt Stock/Reuters