Foundation Future Industries, Inc.
San Francisco humanoid maker (est. 2024) of Phantom, an 80 kg robot with cycloid actuators, piloted in manufacturing and tested under US military contracts.
Foundation Future Industries, Inc. (Foundation) is a San Francisco company founded in April 2024 that builds general-purpose humanoid robots. CEO Sankaet Pathak previously led banking-as-a-service platform Synapse; other people associated with the company include Arjun Sethi of lead investor Tribe Capital and Cobalt Robotics co-founder Mike LeBlanc.
Phantom. The company's first production humanoid stands 1.8 m tall and weighs 80 kg. Official specifications list a walking speed of 1.7 m/s and joint torques of 20 Nm at the wrist, 119 Nm at the shoulder and over 160 Nm in the legs. The robot uses proprietary sealed electric cycloid actuators with a cycloidal gear design, rated for up to 160 Nm peak torque, back-driving torque under 1.0 Nm, response time under 10 ms, and 9 rad/s at 48 V or 12 rad/s at 72 V; Foundation positions them as compact, quiet, low-backlash and lower-maintenance than hydraulics. Phantom is controlled by Cortex, Foundation's AI stack for perception, learning and autonomy, and the company says it has demonstrated a physics-action model. Published demonstrations in 2026 include heavy-payload handling, mortar handling and autonomous walking. A Phantom MK-2 with waterproofing, larger batteries and higher payload has been reported for 2026.
Customers and contracts. Foundation reports pilots in consumer goods, beverage and glass manufacturing. Media reports state that it holds about US$24 million in research contracts with the US Army, Navy and Air Force, including an SBIR Phase III designation, partly obtained through its acquisition of Boardwalk, and that two Phantom MK-1 units were sent to Ukraine in February 2026 for logistics and reconnaissance testing. The company offers robots through a robots-as-a-service model as well as sale; reported pricing is about US$150,000 per unit or a US$100,000 annual lease.
Funding. Foundation raised a US$11 million pre-seed round led by Tribe Capital in August 2024 and about US$21 million in total by early 2025.
Primary type & automation activities this supplier delivers:
Phantom
Production humanoid with cycloid actuators for industrial and defense tasks, controlled by Cortex AI.
Foundation cycloid actuator
Sealed electric cycloidal actuator used in Phantom, up to 160 Nm peak torque with sub-10 ms response.
Cortex
Foundation's AI stack for Phantom perception, learning and autonomy.
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Contact Foundation Future Industries, Inc.
WEBSITE
https://foundation.botHEADQUARTERS
United States
Company Facts
Founded
2024
Primary Role
Manufacturer
Company Size
-
Primary Region
North America
Annual Sales
-
Funding Stage
Early-Stage VC
Funding Total
-
