Persona AI, founded by Nic Radford and Jerry Pratt, is building a bipedal humanoid for shipyard welding. In an interview published by IEEE Spectrum on August 17, 2026, the company confirmed two partnerships: HD Hyundai, the world’s largest shipbuilder, and POSCO, the world’s third-largest steelmaker. Both are Korean. Contract values and unit counts were not disclosed.
Radford led NASA Johnson Space Center’s Valkyrie humanoid programme and founded Nauticus Robotics. Pratt led the IHMC team at the DARPA Robotics Challenge and was chief technology officer at Figure. Between them they have spent more time on bipedal hardware than most of the companies currently raising against it.
Welding is slow, and that is the point
A single ship requires hundreds of kilometres of linear welding. The work tops out at roughly one centimetre per second, because that is how fast the metal melts — not how fast the operator moves. Quality is determined by millimetre-scale repeatability held across the full run.
That combination is unusually favourable to robots. Most humanoid demonstrations fail on speed: a machine that picks a box in eight seconds against a human’s two has no business case regardless of how impressive the manipulation looks. Welding removes the speed comparison entirely and replaces it with a consistency comparison, which is the one machines win. It also happens to be a task where the human alternative is a scarce, expensive, ageing certified tradesperson rather than a minimum-wage picker.
Key Facts
- IEEE Spectrum interview published August 17, 2026
- Two disclosed partners: HD Hyundai (world’s largest shipbuilder) and POSCO (world’s third-largest steelmaker)
- A single ship requires hundreds of kilometres of linear welding
- Welding speed tops out at roughly 1 cm per second, limited by how fast metal melts
- Millimetre-scale repeatability is the quality determinant
- Persona says customers prefer partners who can field hundreds of robots per location
- Founders: Nic Radford (ex-NASA JSC Valkyrie lead, founder of Nauticus Robotics) and Jerry Pratt (ex-IHMC DARPA Robotics Challenge team lead, ex-Figure CTO)
- Contract sizes, unit numbers and financial terms were not disclosed
Why bipedal, in a place with cranes
A yard is hundreds of metres long, and welders move constantly across horizontal and vertical members, through portholes, working overhead and at deck level. Wheels stop at the first bulkhead. That is a narrower justification for legs than the industry usually offers — it is not about human-shaped workspaces in the abstract, it is about a specific structure that was built to be climbed.
The scale requirement is the harder part. Persona says customers want vendors who can field hundreds of robots at a single location. Every humanoid company can build one. Very few have shown they can build, service and keep certified several hundred welding units inside one yard, and that is the number HD Hyundai will actually be underwriting.
Why it matters
Korea’s heavy industry keeps turning up as the first commercial venue for humanoid work — shipbuilding, steel, and the defence yards behind them — because it has the labour shortage, the capital and the tolerance for a long qualification cycle. HII made the same bet in the United States with Path Robotics and GrayMatter earlier this month, on welding, in shipyards, for the same reasons.
Two independent buyers arriving at welding first is a data point about where humanoid economics actually close. It is not the household robot, and it is not the warehouse. It is the certified trade nobody can hire.
Frequently Asked
Who are Persona AI’s disclosed partners?
HD Hyundai, the world’s largest shipbuilder, and POSCO, the world’s third-largest steelmaker. Both are Korean. Contract values and unit counts have not been disclosed.
Why target welding with a humanoid?
Welding tops out at roughly one centimetre per second because that is how fast metal melts, so robots are not competing on speed. Quality depends on millimetre-scale repeatability held over hundreds of kilometres of weld per ship, which favours machines.
Why does the robot need legs?
Shipyards are hundreds of metres long and welders continuously cross horizontal and vertical members, work through portholes and operate overhead and at deck level. Wheeled platforms cannot traverse that structure.