Trump Son Eyes Drone Startup Deal

Eric Trump has put money into a big plan that will combine an Israeli drone maker with a Florida construction company. The goal is to bring the drone business onto public markets. The deal values the merger at about $1. 5 billion. Eric’s investment comes alongside a similar stake from the company Unusual Machines, which also added Donald Trump Jr. as an advisor earlier this year. The Trump family has been building new businesses after the former president’s return to office. They earned roughly $800 million from crypto sales in early 2025 alone.Drones are now a key part of U. S. military gear, especially in Ukraine where traditional planes struggle against heavy air defenses. This success has drawn more money from Silicon Valley into drone and AI defense startups, lifting the prices of firms like Anduril Industries and Shield AI. The Israeli company’s systems already serve the U. S. Department of Defense, Singapore, Europe, the U. K. , and Israel’s army as of mid‑2025. Other backers include Israeli Protego Ventures, Texas real‑estate firm American Ventures, and Miami’s Aliya Capital. The merger will close by mid‑2026. After that, the new company will be called XTEND AI Robotics and will trade on Nasdaq under the ticker “XTND. ”