Investment in Industrial Humanoid Robot Company ‘Persona AI’
Introducing Humanoid Robots Specialized in Heavy-Duty Industrial Sites to Enhance Productivity and Safety
POSCO Group is investing in a US-based company specializing in industrial humanoid robots to actively expand the use of physical AI in the field, combining its AI technology with robots.
POSCO DX (CEO Shim Min-suk) announced a $2 million investment in US-based industrial humanoid robot company ‘Persona AI’ and will actively collaborate on joint robot development and field application. This investment was made through the “POSCO DX Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) New Technology Investment Fund,” funded by POSCO DX and POSCO Capital in the second half of this year. An additional $1 million was invested through the “POSCO CVC Scale-Up Fund No. 1,” also funded by POSCO Capital, bringing the total investment to $3 million across the POSCO Group.
Founded in June 2024, Persona AI is an industrial humanoid robot company developing robots specialized for high-intensity, heavy-duty industrial sites. Co-founded by CEO Nicolaus Radford, a former NASA robotics engineer, and CTO Jerry Pratt, former CTO of Figure AI, a US humanoid robot company, the company is now CTO.
Based on NASA’s robotic hand technology, Persona AI implements precision control capabilities capable of everything from fine part assembly to heavy-duty handling. In addition, the company possesses multi-axis tactile sensing and adaptive control technology. This technology integrates data acquired through the robot’s multi-axis tactile sensor in real time to simultaneously control force and position, enabling the robot to perform stable tasks even in uneven environments. Furthermore, Persona AI applies an AI control algorithm based on the Robot Foundation Model (RFM), which acts as the robot’s brain, enabling the robot to autonomously interact with its surroundings and perform advanced tasks.
With this investment, POSCO DX plans to develop a detailed collaboration plan for the development of humanoid robots that can replace high-risk manual processes in the group’s industrial sites. The company explains that by combining its own industrial AI technology with Persona AI’s robotics technology, it will accelerate the spread of physical AI. Previously, POSCO DX is working with POSCO to implement physical AI, which efficiently controls large-scale equipment such as cranes, conveyor belts, and unloading machines at steel mills without human intervention.
The US investment bank Morgan Stanley forecast in a report that the global humanoid market will grow by an average of 63% annually, reaching approximately $38 billion (approximately 54 trillion won) by 2035, with manufacturing and logistics accounting for 60% of the market.
Meanwhile, POSCO Group is expanding its corporate venture capital (CVC) fund, which focuses on venture investments to identify innovative technologies and promising future businesses, from its existing focus at POSCO Holdings to a customized platform for each operating company. In August of this year, POSCO established its first CVC fund, with 50 billion won each for POSCO International and POSCO DX.
▲ Image of a humanoid robot model being developed by Persona AI.