A company affiliated with Eric and Donald Jr., Donald Trump’s two eldest sons, is investing in an American manufacturer of autonomous drones, some of which have military applications.
This was revealed in a press release issued Monday. The news has led to renewed accusations of a conflict of interest.
The investment is a complex arrangement: a merger between Autonomous Power Corporation, a drone specialist operating under the name Powerus, and Aureus Greenway Holdings, a group that owns two golf courses and is listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange. One of Aureus’ investors is asset manager Dominari Securities, with Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump acting as investors and advisors.
The entity resulting from the merger between Aureus and Autonomous Power Corporation will be called Powerus Corporation. The investment firm American Ventures, in which Trump’s two eldest sons also have interests, will also acquire a stake in Powerus. Donald Trump Jr. invested in another drone startup, Unusual Machines, in November 2024. That Orlando, Florida-based company signed a supply contract with the U.S. military in October 2025.
The new deals come as the Department of Defence is working to ramp up drone purchases, with a $1.1 billion project to acquire hundreds of thousands of drones by 2027 and the construction of a U.S. drone systems manufacturing facility.
Observers and politicians have accused the Trump family of conflicts of interest in various sectors, such as cryptocurrencies and real estate.
