Pentagon Contract

Benchmark leads $25M seed round in missile-interceptor startup Furientis

Furientis, a one-year-old startup building mass-producible interceptor missiles, raised $25 million in a seed round led by Benchmark at a $125 million valuation. The company previously raised $5 million in a pre-seed round in May and has already secured a funded Pentagon contract to build mid-range interceptors. Co-founders Brody Franzen and Aris Simsarian bring backgrounds from Virgin Galactic, Castelion, and Virgin Orbit.

techcrunch.com · 2026-10-06

Foundation Lands $24M Pentagon Deal to Develop Armed Humanoid Robots

San Francisco startup Foundation, backed by Eric Trump, has signed a $24 million contract with the Pentagon to advance its Phantom MK1 humanoid robot for military use. CEO Sankaet Pathak says the machines aren't yet capable of combat but envisions a future where they could enter buildings to complete missions instead of airstrikes, and hasn't ruled out arming them. The company has already deployed about ten robots, including with the Air Force and in logistics support roles in Ukraine.

futurism.com · 2026-09-15