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Hyundai Partners with AI and Robotics Start-ups for Humanoid Welding Robots

humanoid welding robot
Concept Rendering of humanoid welding robot from Persona AI's website

Published May 8, 2025 2:30 PM by The Maritime Executive


South Korea’s HD Hyundai is partnering with AI and robotics start-ups to develop a humanoid robot capable of complex, precise welding tasks as part of the smart shipyard of the future. The companies are saying they aim to “usher in a new era of human-machine collaboration,” which will enhance productivity and safety.

“Unlike conventional robots that focus solely on repetitive tasks, these robots must be able to observe, reason, and make decisions,” said HD Hyundai Robotics Vice President Young-hoon Song. He explained that the goal is to have robots that will perform complex welding tasks in the shipyard environment.

Hyundai is partnering with newly-launched, Houston-based Persona AI, a start-up focusing on embodied artificial intelligence, and Vazil, a five-year-old South Korean company focused on robotics integration and manufacturing. The companies will work together to develop the prototypes by the end of 2026. They expect field testing and commercial development to begin in 2027.

Persona AI, earlier this year, raised more than $10 million in pre-seed funding, according to InnovationMap. Two of its founders, Nicolaus Radford and Jide Akinyode, InnovationMap reports helped develop a NASA humanoid robot, and both are former employees of Nauticus Robotics, a provider of autonomous subsea robots. On its website, Persona AI highlights the potential for humanoid robots to provide scalable labor for tough jobs ranging from welding to assembly, fabrication, building, and mining. 

Development of humanoid hardware and AI-based control and learning algorithms for the welding robots will be led by Persona AI. Vazil Company will develop the welding tools and build the industrial testing environment. 

Hyundai has been working to develop the shipyard of the future, which it believes will incorporate automation and other key technologies. Its HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering company will support the deployment of the system, providing live shipyard settings and field engineering data. HD Hyundai Robotics will contribute welding-path AI training data and performance validation.

"Welding humanoids will not only boost productivity but also significantly reduce the burden on workers and greatly enhance safety,” said HD KSOE Senior Vice President Dong-ju Lee. “By developing robots optimized for shipyard tasks, we aim to set a new paradigm in shipbuilding automation. Our goal is a smart shipyard where humans and intelligent robots collaborate seamlessly."

Shipyards and other applications have been using welding bots to perform repetitive tasks on assembly lines. Vazil Company CTO Sungwon Kim highlights that they envision an application that will elevate shipyard automation to the next level. The goal is to enhance productivity and improve workplace safety in shipyards.