Company backed by Eric Trump in talks with IDF on supplying robots for tunnels

In depth

Foundation Future Industries, a robotics company founded in 2024, is holding preliminary talks with the IDF on supplying up to 1,000 humanoid robots for operations in Hamas tunnels. Mike Blanchette, the company's president and co-founder, toured tunnels in Gaza in September with the Phantom MK1 robot and met senior IDF officials that month. According to him, the talks are preliminary and the contract has not yet been signed.

Eric Trump is one of the company's early investors and serves as a senior strategic adviser to it. The company has received more than $70 million from the US military, including a procurement contract from the Pentagon. Israel has not confirmed the talks.

According to the CEO, two of the company's robots were sent for trials with the Ukrainian army, which included the use of weapons. The robots intended for Israel, which are meant to scan tunnels, could also, according to the company, take part in fighting.