Feb 17 - Eric Trump, a son of U.S. President Donald Trump, is investing in a proposed $1.5 billion merger between Israeli drone developer XTEND and Florida-based JFB Construction Holdings that is structured to take XTEND public.
According to JFB, the all-stock transaction counts several other participants in the investor group. Among them are Unusual Machines - a drone company that engaged Eric Trump’s brother Donald Trump Jr. as an advisor in November 2024 - as well as Israel-based Protego Ventures, Texas real estate firm American Ventures, and Miami-based Aliya Capital.
Under the terms outlined by JFB, the combined company will adopt the name XTEND AI Robotics when the deal closes, and shares are planned to be listed on the Nasdaq under the ticker "XTND." The merger is expected to be finalized by the middle of 2026, pending the completion of the all-stock exchange.
XTEND develops AI-enabled drone systems that JFB said are in use by multiple defense customers. As of July 2025, those users include the U.S. Department of Defense, Singapore, Europe, the U.K., and the Israel Defense Forces, according to the information provided by the parties.
The move comes amid strong demand for unmanned systems: drones have become a high-volume procurement item at the Pentagon and are reported to play a central role on the battlefield in Ukraine, where the prevalence of dense air defenses near the front lines has limited the use of conventional warplanes.
That battlefield success has correlated with increased investment from Silicon Valley into drone and military artificial intelligence startups, contributing to higher valuations for U.S. companies in the sector such as Anduril Industries and Shield AI, the parties stated.
The report also noted recent expansions in business activities by the Trump family. Since Donald Trump’s return to office, family ventures have grown and included cryptocurrency sales that generated about $800 million for the family in the first half of 2025.
Separately, promotional material included with the release referenced UMAC. It asked whether investors should consider UMAC now and described ProPicks AI as evaluating UMAC and thousands of other companies monthly using more than 100 financial metrics. The description added that the AI assesses fundamentals, momentum, and valuation without bias and cited past winners highlighted by the tool, including Super Micro Computer (+185%) and AppLovin (+157%).
JFB’s announcement frames the transaction as a path to public markets for XTEND and as a consolidation of strategic investors around the drone maker’s AI-enabled product set. The timeline, investor roster, and post-close naming and ticker plans are as stated by JFB, with the closing anticipated by mid-2026.