Path Robotics, GrayMatter Robotics Sign Production Agreements With HII

HII announced long-term performance-based production agreements with High-Yield Production Robotics (HYPR) team members GrayMatter Robotics and Path Robotics. The signed agreements are designed to accelerate the development and deployment of advanced physical AI automation across U.S. Navy shipbuilding programs, including aircraft carriers, submarines, destroyers, amphibious ships, future frigates and unmanned surface vessels.

Under the agreements, HII intends to award up to $900 million in total shipbuilding work to Path Robotics and GrayMatter Robotics across seven years, contingent on the two companies meeting clearly defined technology and manufacturing readiness, and performance milestones outlined in the agreements. This sustained demand signal enables Path Robotics and GrayMatter Robotics to make significant long-term investments in robotics, autonomous systems, facilities and workforce required to deliver Navy-grade production at scale.

The performance-based production agreements are part of a broader set of strategic agreements that form the HYPR Program, including collaboration and joint development frameworks that establish governance, program execution, and long-term operational alignment among the companies. The companies expect the collaborative effort to push the boundaries of automation never seen before in shipbuilding. 

The agreements are structured in two stages: a Navy-grade development stage and a delivery stage. In the development stage, both companies will partner with HII to develop, validate and qualify high-precision production techniques for autonomous welding, grinding, blasting, painting, assembly, inspection and other fabrication processes, then integrate them into an autonomous production line.

The agreements establish a rigorous testing, qualification and oversight process to ensure that every technology meets the stringent standards of U.S. Navy shipbuilding. In the delivery stage, HII will begin sourcing shipbuilding work from both companies through the new line, contingent upon favorable cost, schedule, and quality performance. The delivery stage is designed to augment HII’s current distributed shipbuilding strategy, starting with small steel structures and growing to include units and modules. 

In 2026, HII plans to outsource more than 2.5 million hours of shipbuilding work, a 30% increase from 2025, while expanding its structural assembly network of assembly partner companies, enabling more work to be completed outside the shipyards before final assembly.