The verified answer
As of Oct 2026, DEPLOY verifies Foundation: 1 model, $24.0M raised. 5 sources back the record.
CategoryHumanoids
Overview
US Humanoid startup (San Francisco; founded 2024; CEO Sankaet Pathak, ex-Synapse) making the Phantom MK1 humanoid; mid-2026 posture is defense/military (Ukraine testing, Pentagon SBIR). Documented history of exaggerated customer claims (GM denial).
Reality check
Skeptical flag
Research/demo; documented GM-claim denial (June 2024); defense pivot; no verified deployment.
Verified record
- Verified deployments
- None on file
- Active incidents
- None on file
Valuation of record
DEPLOY VERIFIEDPriced roundOther post-money
Key facts
Product
CEO
Defense/military posture timing
Testing location
Defense program
Key product
Pentagon contracts
Production target
Military testing
Data & sources
News coverage
2
Web sources
3
5 sources backing this record.View all →
Models (1)
View all models →Foundation on the deployment map
View the global mapFoundation has no verified deployments on the DEPLOY registry yet. Explore the deployment map by place and type.
No verified deployments for Foundation on the DEPLOY record yet. Track Foundation to know the moment the first one is verified.
Current leadership (2)
- Pathak Founder & CEOreported, not verified
- Sankaet Pathak CEOreported, not verified
Founders (1)
- Pathakcofounder
Safety record
No incidents on record for Foundation.
Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.
Full safety record: incidents, sourcing, and exposure data →
Recent coverage
Foundation in third-party press
Peers
100 peers across 1 segment. Every Foundation competitor derived from shared form-factor and application-domain edges.
humanoid(100)
68 companies in this segment · competitive (HHI 574.5255335898561) · leader Figure AI at 1207%
- 1X Technologiesdirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- 1X Technologiesdirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- AI2 Roboticsdirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- AIST Humanoid Research Groupdirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- Acuminodirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- AgiBotdirect competitor(inferred)moderate
Mentioned on (21+)
Registry pages whose text names Foundation.
Companies (13)
RoboForce, Physical Intelligence, Cerebras Systems, Covariant, Wayve, Hugging Face, Mistral AI, Field AI, Sereact, TGW Logistics, Embodied Intelligence, Avatar Robotics, Boardwalk Robotics
Robots and products (2)
AI systems (2)
People (4)
About 68 more pages name Foundation and were not checked here.
Financial state
- Total funding
- $24.0M
- Reporting basis
- private_reported
- Lifecycle stage
- early
- Counterparty risk class
- moderate
Each numeric field carries its own basis marker. Aggregators report a number; this surface preserves the source class so verification depth travels with the value.
Funding rounds (1)
- Other2025-12-01
$24M(reported) · $120M post
Timeline
Every recorded move in Foundation’s history, most recent first: funding rounds, partnerships, acquisitions, supply-chain starts, key hires, and press.
Funding roundOther funding round
2025-12-01Other raising $24000000
Recent activity
Every change to this record is dated, sourced, and independently verified where marked.
- Verified media addedVerifiedJun 5, 2026
Foundation Phantom walking test
- Record createdJun 3, 2026
Added to the verified registry
Sources (5)
- https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/12/robotics-startup-synapse-ceo-exaggerated-gm-claims.html
- https://thenextweb.com/news/foundation-humanoid-robot-soldiers-pentagon
- https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/30/humanoid-robots-ukraine-war-foundation-military-ai.html
- https://www.instagram.com/p/DeU0_EpSx4a/ · 2026-10-10
- https://foundation.bot/phantom · 2026-10-10
Common questions
What is Foundation?
What does Foundation make?
Is Foundation publicly traded?
Who competes with Foundation?
Who is the CEO of Foundation?
How can I invest in Foundation?
Where is Foundation headquartered?
How much funding has Foundation raised?
Who owns Foundation?
Where does Foundation operate robots?
Is Foundation a top robotics company?
When was Foundation founded?
Is Foundation safe?
Methodology: Verified · 5 sources (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-10-12
Verification posture
Verified
Medium confidence
Review state
Stable
Last reviewed 2026-10-12
Sources by quality tier
- 3
- unclassified
- Unclassified source
- 2
- secondary-established-publication
- Established publication
The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.
Methodology surface for Foundation.Peer companies
- Unitree Robotics12 models
- DLR Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics6 models
- Dobot6 models
- 1X Technologies5 models
- AgiBot5 models
- AheadForm5 models
In the press
Recent coverage mentioning Foundation from third-party publications. Automatically surfaced; not part of the verified registry record.
Want More AI Value from Agents? Start with Your Foundation
When it comes to AI value, CEOs expect more than just productivity metrics. See how context and orchestration create transformational AI value.
Physical AI is more than robots, says the Nvidia veteran now investing in it
Amulya Vishwanath, who spent seven years leading product marketing for NVIDIA’s robotics platforms, says robotics is currently in its “Lego era,” with the basic building blocks…
An Nvidia insider-turned-VC on why robotics hasn’t hit its ChatGPT moment, yet
Amulya Vishwanath, who spent seven years leading product marketing for NVIDIA’s robotics platforms, says robotics is currently in its “Lego era,” with the basic building blocks…
Skild AI trains robots to learn physical skills through self-play
Skild AI has demonstrated a new self-play training approach that enables robots to develop physical skills without relying on human demonstrations, using its S1 robotics…
WERN | ATM Watch: $31.70 Holds the Floor. $35.58 Guards the Vaul
WERN moves freight. My capital expects it to move with purpose. On this 4H chart, price has rebounded from the $31.69–$31.71 support area to around $33.06. That support sits near…
OpenAI Foundation Commits $50M to AI for City Services as Court Grants Apple Access to OpenAI Hiring Records
The Rockefeller Foundation and OpenAI Foundation have introduced Cities Deliver: AI Solutions for Public Services, a $50 million initiative backing nonprofit and civil society…
Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital Foundation receives $230,000 Grant to Expand Pediatric Behavioral Health and Suicide Prevention Services
Three-year grant from Simply Healthcare Foundation will connect children and families with timely, community-based mental health support September 29, 2026 — Joe DiMaggio…
Physical Intelligence Opens Pi API Beta for Robot Model Training and Deployment
Insider Brief Physical Intelligence has launched a beta version of its Pi API, giving robotics developers access to its latest foundation models for fine-tuning and inference…
UniCredit Foundation Renews European Education Partnerships with More Than €16 Million
Three-year agreements with Teach For All and JA Europe will broaden support for students and educators, including Austrian school programmes and financial literacy initiatives. IN…
Michigan State University Receives $20 Million NSF Grant For Space And Semiconductor Research Facility
Michigan State University received a $20 million grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation to establish the Integrated Diamond and Carbon Research in Space Applications…
Neura Robotics Unveils ‘Neuron AI’ Foundation Model for Physical AI
Insider Brief Neura Robotics has introduced Neuron AI, a foundation model designed to give robots a greater understanding of the physical world by combining vision, touch, sound,…
Baptist Health Foundation Announces $1 Million Grant from Knight Foundation to Advance Healthcare Technology Innovation Fellowship
Renewed investment will support the next five years of the Baptist Health Knight Foundation Fellowship in Healthcare Technology Innovation October 13, 2026 – Baptist Health…
Machine-readable surfaces
- Markdown mirror: /companies/foundation.md
- RSS feed: /companies/foundation/feed.xml
- JSON-LD: embedded in this page’s head
- REST API: /v1/companies/bbca758e-d07c-4c56-90ea-d5fd3baf142c
- Revision history: /companies/foundation/history
- Data documentation: /data
- Query this programmatically: Deploy MCP
Peer companies
- Unitree Robotics12 models
- DLR Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics6 models
- Dobot6 models
- 1X Technologies5 models
- AgiBot5 models
- AheadForm5 models
Video
Abstract: Foundation models, such as GPT, have marked significant achievements in the fields of natural language and vision, demonstrating exceptional abilities
Hypertension affects nearly half of U.S. adults, and 10% of those cases don’t respond well to treatment. U.S. National Science Foundation-supported professor Ta
To get started with Isaac Sim and Isaac Lab, I introduced the NVIDIA Deep Learning Institute (DLI) learning path. Part 1 covers what an Embodied AI is as a moti
We're building the world's most diverse real-world, real-workplace egocentric + robot dataset — where the real physical world itself becomes the next training a
Hypertension affects nearly half of U.S. adults, and 10% of those cases don’t respond well to treatment. U.S. National Science Foundation-supported professor Ta
Looking to reenergize the defense industrial base and promoting "AI-proof, six-figure jobs," the DoD partnered with the former "Dirty Jobs" host for advocacy.
Hypertension affects nearly half of U.S. adults, and 10% of those cases don’t respond well to treatment. U.S. National Science Foundation-supported professor Ta
The sustained influx of fentanyl and other illicit drugs has had a profound impact on the lives of Americans. Louise Shelley, a professor emerita at George Maso
Tribute to Army Staff Sergeant Ryan Knauss, his mother creates a foundation that awards scholarships to JROTC cadets in his memory.
Head of the group behind the forthcoming Global War on Terrorism memorial says first public renderings are not the "final concept," and changes are expected.
In Alcoa, one group hung 50 6 ft flags bearing veterans’ names in a partnership with the city.
Brock White with Medora Foundation on future of Medora Kxnet.com Welcome to the KXMB/KXMC YouTube channel, your home for all news, sports, and weather in west
Veteran investor Warren Buffett has held off on his usual donation to the Gates Foundation while awaiting the outcome of a review into the foundation’s ties to
Warren Buffett has reportedly paused his annual gift to the Gates Foundation due to the Microsoft cofounder’s ties to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, acc
Intelligence is stepping into the physical world, and QNX is powering the transition. Leveraging the sophisticated architecture of the modern software-defined
Secure information is essential in the digital exchanges of modern life. U.S. National Science Foundation-supported professor Vinod Vaikuntanathan discusses qua
Secure information is essential in the digital exchanges of modern life. U.S. National Science Foundation-supported professor Vinod Vaikuntanathan discusses qua
Secure information is essential in the digital exchanges of modern life. U.S. National Science Foundation-supported professor Vinod Vaikuntanathan discusses qua
Can artificial intelligence innovations transform the way you get surgeries? U.S. National Science Foundation supported engineers are developing autonomous heal
"Overcoming the safety and security barriers to autonomous vehicle deployment" presented by Colin Robbins Nexor & Prof. Carsten Maple University of Warwick at t
Heat Index
Category contender75/100
A composite of competitive footprint, funding, press velocity, active partnerships, and supply-chain edges. Different from the Intelligence score below (which is per-form-factor productization). Non-robotics companies cap at 25.
Reality vs attention
Foundation draws attention at the 93rd percentile but verifies reality at the insufficient-data level among humanoids.
6-month trend
Analysis
Meaningful press and media coverage across the period. Funded with institutional backing on record.
Signal flags
Dimension breakdown
Verified signal
Attention (reach, not merit)
DEPLOY Intelligence scores are computed from verified registry data: confirmed deployments, disclosed funding rounds, regulatory filings, active job listings, video viewership, and press coverage. Confidence ratings reflect data availability. Scores update nightly.
DEPLOY Indices — verified vs claimed
Last computed: Oct 17, 2026