REASSESSED 2026.08.04

Persona AI

Persona AI Gen 1

Name: Persona AI Gen 1
Brand: Persona AI

Industrial-grade bipedal platform from a founding team with deep humanoid pedigree. Shipyard welding and fabrication are the design targets; supervised pilots are underway. No consumer path exists or is planned.

PriceNo list priceRetail price not tracked

Autonomy Ladder

Why Level II.

One five-rung scale, every category, from acting only on command to working unsupervised anywhere.

VGeneralized AutonomyAny task, any setting. No consumer robot has reached it.
IVEnvironmental AutonomyCopes with everyday clutter and frees itself, shown by independent testing.
IIIConditional AutonomyFinishes whole jobs in familiar spaces; struggles at the edges.
To reach Level IIIMost sessions finish without intervention. Rescue is occasional, not routine.
IIAssisted AutonomyThis robot

Persona AI Gen 1 runs preset routines on its own, and the owner is its recovery system.
Why this level
- Classified at Level II, Assisted Autonomy.
- Persona AI Gen 1 has demonstrated bipedal locomotion outdoors in Houston (May 2026) and is in supervised pilot programs at SSE Steel Fabrication, with an on-site proof of concept at POSCO steel mills scheduled from February 2026.
- No evidence of end-to-end task execution without human oversight has been published.
- The SSE pilot explicitly focuses on data collection with on-site supervisors.
- Teleop fallback dependency cannot be ruled out from available disclosures.
14 sources reviewed
IManual AutomationOne action on command; no independent operation.

How we assign a level →

Human Readiness

Pre-release.

One question: what does buying this robot today walk you into? The state is computed from the record, and recomputed daily.

Pre-releaseThis robot

Persona AI Gen 1 has not shipped to consumers, and a readiness rating is a claim about buying today.

Until consumer shipping starts, the Pre-Release Assessment carries the evaluation; the readiness clock starts at general availability.

On the record

14 sources reviewed
Pre-Release Assessment: 58/100 · Plausible

The scale, for reference

Ready NowAssessed, with a clean record on file. A successor may be shipping; the page says so when it is.
New to MarketOn sale under 90 days; the ownership record is still forming.
WaitA successor is announced and has not shipped; re-read the decision when it arrives.
Known IssuesDocumented problems stand on the record; read the case before buying.

How we assess readiness →

Pre-Release Assessment

How this projection was reached

58of 100

PlausibleAt or above 30% of the 87 robots we assess before release

SpeculativeConceptPlausiblePromisingReady

The hatched tail is unreachable by construction. A projection does not publish as a full mark, because the evidence that settles it does not exist yet: whether the thing ships and works in ordinary use. Those 10 points are what shipping has to earn.

The reading

Concept stage, with meaningful gaps in plausibility and readiness. The founding team carries deep humanoid credibility (NASA Valkyrie, IHMC, Figure AI CTO), and the industrial engagements are substantive early signals: HD Hyundai in shipbuilding, and POSCO moving from a $3M December 2025 investment to a scheduled on-site proof of concept at its steel mills from February 2026. Provisional classification pending first autonomous task evidence and hardware disclosure. Announced December 2025.

Still open

Physical specifications (height, weight, payload) not publicly disclosed
Autonomous task completion capability without teleoperator not yet demonstrated
Official product model name and commercial branding not announced
Pricing, rate card, or RaaS contract terms not disclosed
Battery runtime and charge cycle behavior in shipyard conditions not documented
HD Hyundai shipyard deployment results not yet published

Three signals the number rests onweighted, then capped58What can be judged before anyone owns one.

Track Recordleft outNot judged

What this asks

Has this maker shipped what it demoed before, on schedule, with the promised capability?

What it rests on

Persona AI was founded in 2024 and Gen 1 is its first humanoid, with prototype delivery to HD Hyundai targeted for the end of 2026, so there is no record to judge (Interesting Engineering, https://interestingengineering.com/ai-robotics/hyundai-persona-humanoid-robot-welding-shipyard).

Engineering54% of the assessment71

What this asks

Are the demonstrated capabilities achievable in shipping form, or do they need breakthroughs not in evidence?

Demo Match46% of the assessment43

What this asks

What has been shown to work, against what is claimed in marketing.

35% of the assessment has no source outside the maker and is left out; the number rests on what remains.

Published beside the numbernever averaged inWhat the maker has disclosed, not what has been judged.

Readinessnot in the number32

What this asks

Ship-date specificity, pricing transparency, distribution and regulatory status. Published beside the number; never averaged in.

Disclosurenot in the number22

What this asks

How much of the product is disclosed. Higher means fewer fundamental unknowns remain. Published beside the number; never averaged in.

middle half of the pre-release setits medianthis robot

Not a Robovations Scorethe two never convert into each other

This is a projection from pre-shipping signals, not a measurement. When the robot ships, the assessment is archived, a first Robovations Score is computed from the field record, and the change is logged on the tracker rather than appearing as a new number.

Read the pre-release method →

FIT CHECK

Will the Persona AI Gen 1 fit your scenario?

Describe your scenario using the controls. Each choice reads the spec sheet for you, flagging where the Persona AI Gen 1 is built for your space and where it isn’t.

Where it operates

Primary tasks

Supervision needs

Timeline

A classification of fit for the conditions you set, not a recommendation. Verdicts describe engineering design intent, not test results.

SPECIFICATION

The full spec sheet.

Manufacturer-published figures, measured against every humanoid robot we track.

Dimensions not publishedDimensional drawing

Key specificationsManufacturer-published

Official referencesManufacturer site

RECORD

How the assessment has moved.

Every announcement, release and reassessment behind the current classification.

Coming soon

Just launched

Active updates

Settled

Discontinued

Sep 2026 · AssessmentPre-Release Assessment method revised: 44 → 58
Aug 2026 · NewsPersona AI Names Shipyard Welding Its First Commercial Deployment Target
Aug 2026 · AssessmentPre-Release Assessment revised 40 → 44
Jul 2026 · AssessmentPre-Release Assessment recorded at 40 of 100
Jan 2026 · NewsLouisiana Partners with Persona AI on Humanoid Pilot at SSE Steel Fabrication
May 2025 · NewsPersona AI and HD Hyundai Sign Humanoid Welding MOU for Shipyards
Jun 2024 · AnnouncementPersona AI Exits Anti-Stealth with Industrial Humanoid Program

Editorial comparisons

How Persona AI Gen 1 compares.

All comparisons →

Goal-based

Persona AI Gen 1 vs XPENG Iron: what’s each built for?

Persona AI Gen 1 vs XPENG Iron

Read comparison

Common questions

What people actually ask.

6 answered

OperationDoes the Persona AI Gen 1 have a commercial model name beyond 'Gen 1'?

No branded product name has been publicly announced as of June 2026. Persona AI refers to the platform as ‘Gen 1’ in public demonstrations and press coverage. A named product announcement has not been confirmed.

OperationWhat is the Persona AI Gen 1 autonomy level, and does it require a teleoperator?

Classified at Level II, Assisted Autonomy. Current pilot programs involve supervised operation with on-site staff for data collection. No evidence of end-to-end autonomous task completion without human oversight has been published.

OperationHas the Persona AI Gen 1 been deployed in an active shipyard?

An agreement with HD Hyundai subsidiaries targets shipyard deployment within 18 months of the May 2025 funding announcement. A supervised pilot launched at SSE Steel Fabrication in Louisiana in January 2026, focused on welding and fabrication training data collection.

OperationWhat tasks is the Persona AI Gen 1 designed to perform?

Manufacturer descriptions reference welding, grinding, inspection, material handling, and equipment maintenance in shipyard and heavy fabrication environments. The company also describes concept variants including Assembler, Fabricator, Miner, and Welder configurations.

OperationWhat are the Persona AI Gen 1's physical specifications?

No specifications for height, weight, payload, battery capacity, or runtime have been publicly disclosed. The manufacturer states operational targets of two work shifts per day and resistance to hot and cold environments, but no numerical specs are published.

OwnershipHow does Persona AI's RaaS model work, and what does it cost?

Persona AI operates on a robotics-as-a-service model designed to eliminate large upfront capital expenditures for industrial clients. No pricing, rate card, or contract structure has been made public as of June 2026.

Cite / Embed

Reference the Persona AI Gen 1 classification.

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Robovations. "Persona AI Gen 1: Autonomy Level II (Assisted Autonomy)." Autonomy Ladder™, assessed August 2026. https://robovations.com/robots/persona-ai-gen-1/

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Where to next

Three ways to keep going.

For evaluators

Compare with a peer.

See the Persona AI Gen 1 and Leju Kuavo 5 side by side: autonomy level, Robovations Score, readiness, and price. Classification, not a verdict.

See the full comparison

Or compare with Nori A3, Zeroth Bridge, Hexagon AEON.

For browsers

See every Level II.

Every robot we’ve classified at assisted autonomy. Sorted by readiness, score, and price. Filter by category, manufacturer, or release date.

Browse the database

Updated weekly with new entries and reclassifications.

Persona AI Gen 1

Will the Persona AI Gen 1 fit your scenario?

The full spec sheet.

How the assessment has moved.

How Persona AI Gen 1 compares.

Persona AI Gen 1 vs XPENG Iron: what’s each built for?

What people actually ask.

Persona AI Gen 1 in the analysis archive.

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Are robot vacuums a privacy risk? What data leaves your home

Are companion robots actually autonomous? What they can and can’t do

Other humanoid robots we have classified.

Leju Kuavo 5

Nori A3

Zeroth Bridge

Hexagon AEON

Reference the Persona AI Gen 1 classification.

Three ways to keep going.

Get the next reassessment.

Compare with a peer.

See every Level II.