Jane Edwards 
HII and GrayMatter Robotics have partnered to assess the use of physical artificial intelligence in shipbuilding to improve throughput, support the workforce and reinforce the maritime industrial base.
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HII said Monday the companies formalized the partnership by signing a memorandum of understanding at GMR’s headquarters in Carson, California.
What Are the Key Areas of the HII-GMR Collaboration?
HII and GMR will collaborate to identify and pursue opportunities across four areas: autonomous shipbuilding capability development; integration of GMR technologies with other shipbuilding tech initiatives; acceleration and scaling of unmanned system production; and workforce training to expand automation.
The agreement covers the potential deployment of autonomous technologies for surface preparation, coating and inspection in shipbuilding environments.
What Did HII & GMR Leaders Say About the Partnership?
Eric Chewning, executive vice president of maritime systems and corporate strategy at HII, said the company will explore the incorporation of GMR’s physical AI models into shipbuilding operations as part of efforts to increase production efficiency.
“Our shipbuilding throughput was up 14% in 2025 and we are looking for an additional 15% increase in 2026,” he said. “By working with new partners like GMR we can further augment our workforce and speed up U.S. Navy shipbuilding production.”
He added that the collaboration could support the company’s High-Yield Production Robotics initiative, which focuses on integrating physical AI and digital technologies into shipbuilding processes.
“GrayMatter Robotics is proud to be leading the charge to bring Factory SuperIntelligence to bolster our national security in this partnership with HII,” said Ariyan Kabir, CEO and co-founder of GMR.
“We are partnering with HII to solve difficult problems. We will push to drive down delivery time, build our arsenal, build the essential components for our war fighters, and we have to do this very, very quickly. Bridging that gap between demand and capacity is of utmost importance — right after making sure we are delivering the right quality and consistency, and eliminating the scrap, repair, and rework,” added Kabir.
How Does the Partnership Build on HII’s Unmanned & AI Manufacturing Efforts?
The agreement follows a series of HII initiatives focused on scaling autonomous maritime production and integrating advanced manufacturing technologies.
The company recently partnered with Nominal to standardize data workflows and accelerate testing and production for REMUS and ROMULUS autonomous maritime platforms. HII also announced plans for a new Louisiana-based unmanned surface vessel assembly facility and teamed up with Path Robotics to explore the use of physical AI tools in shipbuilding and unmanned system production.
