POSCO Group said on the 4th that it signed a business agreement with U.S. humanoid startup Persona AI to introduce physical AI in manufacturing sites, a technology in which artificial intelligence combines with physical hardware such as robots and equipment to make decisions and move on its own in the real world.
The agreement involves three POSCO Group companies (POSCO, POSCO DX, and POSCO Venture Capital) and Persona AI. Persona AI will provide a humanoid platform tailored to steel mill industrial sites and handle development and implementation, while POSCO will be responsible for related tasks and verification.
Specifically, POSCO DX will handle the design and construction of robot automation systems and co-develop models specialized for steel mills. POSCO Venture Capital will support the execution of business proof-of-concept (PoC) to test whether ideas or technologies are feasible in practice.
Under the agreement, POSCO Group and Persona AI have begun this month to push a proof-of-concept for Persona AI's Humanoid Robot in logistics management of steel coils produced at steel mills.
In crane operations for loading and unloading rolled finished coils that weigh tens of tons (t), the Humanoid Robot will work with on-site workers to attach the crane belt to the coil.
POSCO Group expects the introduction of humanoids to prevent worker accidents and musculoskeletal disorders. In this demonstration, POSCO Group plans to verify the robot's mechanical safety and its ability to collaborate and then expand deployment on site.
Persona AI, which signed the agreement with POSCO Group, is a U.S. Humanoid Robot startup founded in 2024 that is developing industrial humanoid robots capable of tasks from micro-component assembly to handling heavy loads. POSCO Group invested a total of $3 million through last year.
The signing ceremony was held the previous day, on the 3rd, at the POSCO DX headquarters in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province, with POSCO DX President Sim Min-seok, Strategy Office Chief Jeong Gyu-ho, Persona AI CEO Nicholas Radford, and POSCO Venture Capital President Kim Geun-hwan in attendance.