Eric Trump-backed robot startup misses payroll, CNBC reports

CNBC reported that Pathak told employees this week in a memo that he was working on sourcing money to pay back wages. People cited by CNBC said the company also ran out of cash for payroll in August, though employees only had to wait about two days to get paid after Foundation secured a bridge loan from an existing investor.

People cited by CNBC said Foundation's governance structure had raised concerns among prospective investors. According to CNBC's report, Pathak is the company's sole board member and owns most of its shares; its sources said that structure allowed him to borrow $4.6 million from the startup last year, which he described at the time as a short-term loan. Public records cited by CNBC show an LLC naming Pathak as the sole principal bought a Sausalito property with views of San Francisco Bay in October 2025 for $4.6 million. A spokesman for Pathak acknowledged receiving a detailed list of the major points from this story but did not respond to requests for comment.

Foundation was founded in April 2024 by Pathak, Tribe Capital CEO Arjun Sethi and Mike LeBlanc, co-founder of Cobalt Robotics. It has hired dozens of robotics engineers and artificial intelligence experts, some from Tesla and Amazon-owned Zoox. Pathak has claimed his robots could soon take on battlefield tasks in Ukraine or patrol the U.S. border with Mexico. He has said the startup is close to unveiling a next-generation, weapons-ready robot. Eric Trump, the president's son, is an investor and chief strategy advisor; his involvement drew a swift response from Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who said it “looks like corruption in plain sight.”

Eric Trump's spokesperson told the Financial Times that Trump has “no involvement in Foundation's management, operations, strategic decisions or commercial activities, including the solicitation, negotiation, procurement or execution of any government contracts.” In April, Eric Trump said in a broadcast interview, “We have to win robotics in the United States of America.”

Foundation did not win the $24 million in Pentagon contracts widely attributed to it; a person with knowledge of the matter said the figure refers to government research contracts won by Florida-based Boardwalk Robotics, which Foundation acquired in late 2024. Foundation used Boardwalk's robot as the basis for its Phantom MK-1, but performance milestones for the robot have not been reached, another person said. In 2024, CNBC reported that letters Pathak sent to prospective investors cited an imminent investment and $300 million purchase order from General Motors; the automaker rejected those claims, and Foundation co-founder LeBlanc said he was “embarrassed” about the marketing materials.

Before Foundation, Pathak was the founder of Synapse, a fintech middleman that collapsed in 2024, leaving more than 100,000 Americans locked out of $265 million in FDIC-backed deposits. As much as $96 million of customer funds went missing, a bankruptcy trustee said. The bankruptcy concluded without uncovering where the money went; Pathak blamed banking partner Evolve, which blamed Synapse. The Wall Street Journal reported that federal prosecutors convened a grand jury to investigate possible criminal misconduct at Synapse; its report did not mention Pathak specifically. Pathak withdrew $320,000 in loans from Synapse as it spiraled toward bankruptcy in 2024, according to consultant and independent journalist Jason Mikula.

Foundation's financial difficulties come as Pathak seeks to raise hundreds of millions of dollars at a $3 billion valuation. People cited by CNBC said existing investors were aware of the $4.6 million loan through the company's financial disclosures. “This is what happens in a company with no governance,” one person with knowledge of the situation said. Insiders fret that Foundation could soon fold if Pathak doesn't secure fresh funding.