HII Signs Performance-based Production Agreements with Path Robotics and GrayMatter Robotics

HII, a major player in shipbuilding, has signed performance-based production deals with robotics firms GrayMatter Robotics and Path Robotics. These agreements aim to boost the development and implementation of advanced AI-driven automation for U.S. Navy shipbuilding initiatives, encompassing aircraft carriers, submarines, destroyers, amphibious vessels, and future frigates.

Eric Chewning, HII's executive vice president for maritime systems and corporate strategy, emphasized the company's dedication to investing in innovative shipbuilding techniques and expanding production capacity. The partnerships between HII, Path Robotics, and GrayMatter Robotics aim to revolutionize shipbuilding through automation capable of handling intricate, varied, and expansive tasks.

Together, the three entities are creating a new paradigm in robotics for shipbuilding, fostering a resilient industrial base, enhancing dispersed shipbuilding capabilities, supplying vital materials to shipyards and workforce, and unlocking efficiency enhancements essential for delivering the Navy's expanding fleet. Under the agreements, HII is set to award up to $900 million in total shipbuilding projects to GrayMatter Robotics and Path Robotics over seven years, contingent upon meeting specified technology and manufacturing readiness, and performance benchmarks detailed in the agreements.

This long-term commitment enables both companies to invest heavily in robotics, autonomous systems, infrastructure, and talent, necessary to deliver Navy-grade production on a large scale. Andy Lonsberry, CEO and co-founder of Path Robotics, expressed excitement about the collaboration with HII, stating that the agreement validates his company's belief that physical AI can transform manufacturing.

He highlighted how the partnership will help build the shipyard of the future, enable distributed shipbuilding, and establish a model for strengthening America's maritime industrial base. Ariyan Kabir, CEO and co-founder of GrayMatter Robotics, also praised the agreement as a significant milestone in bringing Factory SuperIntelligence to a leading shipbuilder.

He explained that by merging Physical AI with autonomous production systems, they are developing manufacturing that learns, adapts, and improves over time, making complex shipbuilding faster, more resilient, and more scalable. The performance-based production contracts are part of a larger group of strategic agreements forming the HYPR Program, which includes collaborative and joint development frameworks that outline governance, program execution, and long-term operational alignment among the companies.

Both Path Robotics and GrayMatter Robotics anticipate that their collaboration with HII will push the boundaries of automation in shipbuilding, introducing unprecedented levels of efficiency and adaptability. The agreements are structured in two phases: a Navy-grade development stage and a delivery stage. During the development phase, the robotics firms will work alongside HII to create, test, and certify high-precision production methods for autonomous welding, grinding, blasting, painting, assembly, inspection, and other fabrication processes, integrating these techniques into an autonomous production line.

The agreements stipulate a thorough testing, certification, and oversight process to guarantee that all technologies meet the exacting standards of U.S. Navy shipbuilding. In the delivery phase, HII will begin procuring shipbuilding work from GrayMatter Robotics and Path Robotics through the newly established line, contingent on satisfactory cost, schedule, and quality performance.

This phase is designed to complement HII's current distributed shipbuilding strategy, initially focusing on small steel structures and later expanding to encompass complete units and modules. By 2026, HII aims to outsource over 2.5 million hours of shipbuilding labor, marking a 30% rise from 2025, while simultaneously broadening its network of assembly partner companies, allowing more work to be executed outside the shipyards prior to final assembly.