Shipyard humanoid maker Persona AI reports $65.4 million sold toward a $142 million private offering
Houston-based Persona AI disclosed in an SEC Form D filed on September 14, 2026 that it has sold $65,363,626 of a planned $141,964,814 private offering to 46 investors, with the first sale on August 28. The company, which builds humanoid robots for shipyard welding and other skilled trades and has a deployment agreement with HD Hyundai, raised $27 million in a pre-seed round in May 2025.
Persona AI, a Houston developer of humanoid robots for shipbuilding, has raised $65.4 million of a planned $142 million private offering, according to a Form D notice filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on September 14, 2026. The filing shows $65,363,626 sold to 46 investors, $76,601,188 still to be sold and a total offering amount of $141,964,814. The first sale took place on August 28, 2026.
The notice was filed under Rule 506(b), the exemption most U.S. start-ups use for private rounds, and was signed by chief executive Nicolaus Radford. It lists Radford, Jerry Pratt and Jide Akinyode as executive officers and directors, describes Persona AI Inc. as a Delaware corporation incorporated in 2024 with offices on Main Street in Houston, and declines to disclose a revenue range. Form D filings do not name investors or state a valuation, and Persona AI has not issued a press release about the round.
What the money is likely for
Persona AI builds what it calls industrial-grade humanoids with human-like dexterity and modular hands that can use standard industrial tools. Its website targets shipyards, citing persistent problems hiring and retaining skilled workers, and lists welding, painting, grinding and confined-space work as initial tasks.
When it announced an oversubscribed $27 million pre-seed round on May 14, 2025, the company said it had signed a deployment agreement with HD Hyundai, the South Korean shipbuilding group, with initial robot delivery expected within about 18 months. That timeline points to late 2026. Persona AI said at the time it would offer its robots under a robotics-as-a-service model, removing the need for large upfront investment by customers. Unity Growth and Tides Ventures led the pre-seed round, with Mirae Asset Group among the other investors.
Founders
The company was founded in 2024 by robotics veterans Nic Radford, its chief executive, Jerry Pratt, its chief technology officer, and Jide Akinyode, its chief operating officer, according to its 2025 announcement.
Scale in context
If fully sold, the offering would be 5.3 times the 2025 pre-seed; the amount sold so far is 2.4 times it. Persona AI remains far smaller than the best-funded U.S. humanoid companies. Apptronik closed a $350 million Series A in February 2025 and has raised more than $935 million in that series. Agility Robotics raised a $150 million Series B in 2022 and is now listing on Nasdaq at a $2.5 billion equity value. 1X Technologies raised a $100 million Series B in January 2024.
- Persona AI
- 2024
- Private offering, sold to date (Form D)
- 65,363,626
- 2026-09-14
- 2.42
- Persona AI
- 2024
- Private offering, total target (Form D)
- 141,964,814
- 2026-09-14
- 5.26
- Persona AI
- 2024
- Pre-seed
- 27,000,000
- 2025-05-14
- 1
- Apptronik
- 2016
- Series A (first close)
- 350,000,000
- 2025-02-13
- 12.96
- Agility Robotics
- 2015
- Series B
- 150,000,000
- 2022-04-22
- 5.56
- 1X Technologies
- 2014
- Series B
- 100,000,000
- 2024-01-13
- 3.7
- Sanctuary AI
- 2018
- Series A
- 58,500,000
- 2022-03-02
- 2.17
Multiple = round amount / Persona AI's $27 million pre-seed. Share of Form D target sold = $65,363,626 / $141,964,814 = 46.0%. Amounts as disclosed by companies or SEC filings; Form D does not disclose valuation.
As of Oct 1, 2026
Why a shipyard focus matters
Most humanoid start-ups aim at warehouses and car plants, where floors are flat and tasks repetitive. Shipyards are harder environments, with steel hulls, tight compartments, welding fumes and work at height, but they also have acute labor shortages and high-value skilled tasks. A robot that can weld in confined spaces would replace work that is difficult to staff rather than compete with cheap conveyor automation. That makes the segment attractive to buyers in South Korea, the United States and Japan, where naval and commercial shipbuilding capacity has become a policy priority.
Risks and open questions
The Form D shows less than half of the target sold, 46.0%, and does not reveal terms. Persona AI has not published technical specifications, test data or a delivery update on the HD Hyundai agreement since 2025. Welding demands precise force control and process quality certification, and no humanoid maker has yet disclosed certified welding in commercial ship production.
What to watch
The next milestones are an amended Form D showing whether the remaining $76.6 million is sold, a company announcement naming investors, and evidence of the first robot delivery to HD Hyundai around the end of 2026.
ROBOTNESS analysis
Persona AI is betting that the first profitable humanoid jobs will be skilled, dangerous and hard to staff, and the Form D shows investors are willing to fund that thesis at more than twice the pre-seed scale.
The evidence is the combination of a named heavy-industry customer, a founding team the company describes as robotics veterans, and $65.4 million raised quietly from 46 investors by the time of a filing 17 days after the first sale. A shipyard focus also avoids head-on competition with Figure, Agility and Apptronik in logistics.
The strongest counter-argument is that shipyard welding is among the hardest manipulation problems on the market. Confined spaces, curved steel and certification requirements could keep Persona AI in pilots long after warehouse humanoids reach volume.
Bull case. First units reach HD Hyundai on the 18-month timeline, welding quality passes yard inspection, and Persona AI becomes the reference supplier for shipbuilders in Korea and the United States, filling the rest of the offering at a higher price.
Bear case. The offering stalls well short of $142 million, delivery slips into 2027, and better-funded generalist companies adapt their robots to heavy industry once their logistics deployments mature.
Signals to watch
- An amended Form D before mid-2027 showing how much of the remaining $76,601,188 is sold
- A company announcement of the round's lead investor and terms
- Confirmation of first robot delivery under the HD Hyundai agreement around the end of 2026
- SEC Form D, filed September 14, 2026 (Rule 506(b))
- Persona AI Inc., Delaware, incorporated 2024, Houston
- 46
- $76,601,188
- August 28, 2026
- $65,363,626
- $27 million pre-seed, May 14, 2025
- $141,964,814
- HD Hyundai deployment agreement, initial delivery expected within 18 months of May 2025
- Nicolaus Radford (CEO), Jerry Pratt, Jide Akinyode
Why it matters
Persona AI is one of the few humanoid start-ups built around a single heavy-industry vertical rather than general-purpose logistics. The Form D shows that thesis can attract capital at scale: $65.4 million from 46 investors in the 17 days between the first sale and the filing, toward a target more than five times its pre-seed.
It also matters for the shipbuilding industry, which in South Korea, the United States and Japan faces aging workforces and recruitment problems in welding and finishing trades. A credible humanoid supplier for those tasks would be one of the first robotics products aimed at work that is hard to staff rather than merely costly.
Rival analysis
No major U.S. humanoid developer has made shipyards its primary market. Figure, Agility and Apptronik focus on logistics and automotive plants, and Boston Dynamics' Atlas is slated for Hyundai's car plant in Georgia from 2028, according to Hyundai.
The competitive threat to Persona AI is therefore twofold: conventional welding automation such as gantry and collaborative welding robots that shipyards already use, and the possibility that generalist humanoid platforms add welding skills once their core markets mature. Persona's defense is domain focus and an early anchor customer.
Valuation context
Form D does not disclose price or valuation, so the round cannot be benchmarked on that basis. On amount alone, the sold portion equals 2.42 times the 2025 pre-seed and the full target 5.26 times it, still well below Apptronik's $350 million first Series A close.
The fact that 46 investors participated, rather than a handful of large funds, suggests a broad syndicate that may include strategic and Korean investors, as the pre-seed did with Mirae Asset Group. Confirmation will come only if the company announces the round.
Supply-chain implications
Shipyard humanoids require welding power sources, torches and fume handling integrated into the robot, as well as protection against heat, spatter and confined-space hazards. Persona AI says its modular hands can use standard industrial tools, which would let yards reuse existing equipment.
The HD Hyundai relationship ties Persona AI to Korean shipbuilding supply chains. Component sourcing and manufacturing location for Persona's robots have not been disclosed.
Signals to watch
Watch for amended Form D filings that update the amount sold, a company announcement naming the lead investor, and any public demonstration of welding in a working yard.
The most important operating signal is delivery of first units to HD Hyundai, which the 2025 announcement's 18-month timeline places around November 2026.
Analyst view
Thesis. Persona AI's vertical focus on shipyard trades is a defensible niche that generalist humanoid firms are not yet contesting, and the Form D shows capital is available to pursue it.
Confidence is low to medium. The filing confirms money raised but not terms or investors, the company has published no technical results, and certified welding by a humanoid in production has not been demonstrated anywhere. Delivery to HD Hyundai would materially raise confidence.
Questions you should be asking
Who led the round, and at what valuation? Will Persona AI complete the remaining $76.6 million, and on what timeline? What welding processes and certifications is the robot designed to meet?
Is the HD Hyundai agreement on schedule for initial delivery in late 2026, and will deployment start in Korea or at a U.S. yard? Where will Persona AI build its robots?