Persona AI raises $27M to develop humanoid robots for shipyards

Concept renders showing different jobs for Persona AI’s humanoids. | Source: Persona AI

Persona AI Inc., a humanoid robot and embodied artificial intelligence developer, this week said it has closed an oversubscribed pre-seed funding round, raising $27 million. The Houston-based company plans to use the investment to accelerate development and deployment of its platform, which is engineered for tasks in shipbuilding and manufacturing.

Robotics veterans founded the startup in 2024. Nic Radford, the CEO, was the founder and former CEO of Nauticus Robotics. Radford also has more seven years of experience at NASA, where he was the principal investigator at NASA’s Dexterous Robotics Lab.

Jerry Pratt was chief technology officer at Figure AI and now holds the same position at Persona AI. Finally, Jide Akinyode was the vice president of engineering at Nauticus Robotics and is now chief operating officer at Persona AI.

Persona AI addresses industrial tasks

Persona AI said it has designed its humanoid robots to combine industrial-grade precision with human-like dexterity for tasks in physically demanding environments. The company asserted that its system will address critical labor shortages and enhance workplace safety, supporting supply chain resiliency in economically vital global industries.

In addition, Persona AI said its robotics-as-a-service (RaaS) business model eliminates the need for large upfront capital investments from clients.

“We’re deeply grateful to our investors, not just for capital, but for their conviction in a bold vision,” stated Radford. “These partners understand the scale and transformative potential of humanoid robot labor. This level of commitment reflects the magnitude of the opportunity and a trust in what we’re pursuing, which we don’t take lightly.”

The round was co-led by Unity Growth and Tides Ventures. Also participating were Mirae Asset Group, Invicta Growth, Fathom Fund, Embedded Ventures, Wave Function Ventures, Zero Infinity Partners, dConstruct Technologies, Goose Capital, SGH, Sound Media Ventures, Kalea Ventures, K50 Ventures, Cofounder Ventures, Tola Capital, SGA Capital, and Olive Hill Ventures, and K2 Global.

“In the field of humanoid robotics, Persona stands out for tackling the most challenging problems in industrial labor,” said Shankar Gupta Boddu, general partner at Unity Growth. “Their mission goes beyond automation; they’re working towards building a safer and more efficient workplace.”

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Humanoid robots race to commercial deployments

Persona AI said it has already signed an agreement with HD Hyundai, a global leader in shipbuilding, to deploy humanoids into shipyards, with initial delivery expected within 18 months.

The company is far from the only one developing humanoid robots for commercial applications, but its aim for use in shipyards sets the startup apart. Other developers have their sights set on logistics or automotive manufacturing, two industries that are major adopters of robotics in general.

Last year, GXO deployed a “small fleet” of Digit humanoids from Agility Robotics at a Spanx facility in Georgia. Later, Schaeffler AG made a minority investment into Agility and planned to buy Digit robots for use across its global plant network. These marked the first paid deployments for humanoid robots.

Figure AI is also reportedly shipping its Figure 02 system to its first paying customers. While Figure did not revealed the identity of its first customer, the company said BMW Group had tested Figure 02 for handling fitted sheet-metal parts on its automotive production line for two weeks in Spartanburg, S.C.

,Also, Hyundai, Boston Dynamics‘ parent company, plans to deploy its Atlas humanoid across its automotive factories (see video below).

Some analysts, such as Morgan Stanley, have predicted that the market for humanoid labor could reach $3 trillion in the U.S. alone, driven by advancements in AI and the global demand for intelligent automation that mirrors human capabilities.

Others, like Interact Analysis, acknowledged that such robots offer a large opportunity, but said uptake will be low in the short and medium term. Despite the hype about humanoids and significant investment activity, the market research firm predicted that market growth will be relatively slow, reaching over 40,000 units by 2032, with a total market revenue of about $2 billion.

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