TOI Correspondent from Washington: A new doctrine is quietly reshaping America’s technology-industrial complex, recasting Silicon Valley from a playground of consumer apps into an arsenal of strategic hardware. Dubbed “patriotic tech,” the movement argues that technology firms have a moral and national duty to align with the state – particularly in its intensifying rivalry with China. At the center of its latest, most controversial iteration are Indian-American entrepreneur Sankaet Pathak and Eric Trump, whose venture, Foundation Future Industries, has vaulted into prominence with a Pentagon-backed push into battlefield robotics.The firm, often referred to simply as Foundation Industries, recently secured $24 million in research contracts from the Pentagon, along with a coveted SBIR Phase 3 designation that clears the way for broader procurement. Its flagship product, a humanoid robot named “Phantom,” is designed for battlefield use – breaching hostile environments, transporting weapons, and undertaking hazardous inspections that would otherwise endanger soldiers. Reports suggest early deployment could occur in Ukraine, where such machines would handle high-risk logistical tasks.In TV appearances this week, Pathak and Eric Trump touted the technology’s “unlimited” potential across military, industrial, and even hospitality sectors. Trump, who serves as chief strategic adviser and a key financier, framed the robots as a force multiplier in modern warfare. But their partnership has also drawn scrutiny, given the direct involvement of a sitting president’s family member in securing multimillion-dollar defense contracts amid widespread stories of grift in Washington DC.Pathak’s entry into this ecosystem is both striking and contentious. A graduate of the University of Memphis with degrees in engineering and physics, he first rose to prominence as the founder of Synapse Financial Technologies, a fintech firm that collapsed spectacularly into bankruptcy in 2024 amid a shortfall of up to $96 million in customer funds. Tens of thousands of users were affected, and the episode cast a long shadow over his leadership.Now, reinvented as a defense entrepreneur, Pathak positions Foundation as a key player in what he calls the robotics race against China. His alignment with the Trump family – and the administration’s broader “Pax Silica” strategy to secure supply chains among allied nations – has cemented his place in the patriotic tech camp, even as critics question the speed and scale of his resurgence.The rise of Foundation Industries reflects the growing clout of the “patriotic tech” doctrine—a term popularized by Jacob Helberg and Alex Karp. Helberg, now Under Secretary of State, laid out the intellectual framework in his book The Wires of War, arguing that technological supremacy is the new frontline of geopolitical conflict. Karp, chief executive of Palantir Technologies, has gone further, calling software and artificial intelligence the “hard power” of the 21st century in his manifesto The Technological Republic.At its core, patriotic tech rests on three pillars: rejecting corporate neutrality, prioritizing hardware and defense innovation over consumer apps, and confronting what proponents see as an existential challenge from China. This worldview has attracted a powerful coalition of investors and founders, including Peter Thiel, a patron of U.S Veep J.D.Vance, Joe Lonsdale, a co-founder of Palantir, and Palmer Luckey, whose company Anduril Industries has become emblematic of the shift toward militarized innovation.The movement itself has deepened divisions within Silicon Valley. While proponents argue that working with the military is a patriotic duty, critics—particularly within legacy tech firms like Google and Microsoft, both now headed by Indian-Americans —have historically resisted such engagements on ethical grounds. Yet the momentum appears to be shifting. Private investment in defense tech surged to record levels in 2025, signaling that capital—and increasingly policy—is flowing toward the “patriotic” side.For India, the rise of figures like Pathak offers a complex narrative. On one hand, it underscores the growing influence of the Indian diaspora in cutting-edge sectors of American power, going back to the time when Arati Prabhakar served as Director of DARPA (United States Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency). On the other, it highlights the ethical and geopolitical dilemmas of a world where technology is no longer neutral, but explicitly aligned with national interests. This would not be a big deal in India or China, where tech firms, particularly in the public sector, are clearly aligned with national interest. But in an America whose global corporations exported technology worldwide, it sounds like another door being shut.
