Looking for his next business, San Francisco entrepreneur Sankaet Pathak sought an idea that might change the future. He settled on building humanlike robots with weapons.
In May, his company, Foundation, released footage of its sleek Phantom robot loading a mortar. In the video, the robot moves gingerly — but Pathak says he can envision a future of autonomous weapons, with robots making quick decisions on the battlefield.
The launch of Foundation in 2024 was a radical step, given many in the industry’s long-standing opposition to letting autonomous devices decide where to attack without human sign-off and promises by other leading robot companies not to arm their creations.
