Siemens and HD Hyundai to Build AI-Powered Digital Shipyard for U.S. Shipbuilding

Siemens and HD Hyundai have signed a nine-figure agreement to build an artificial intelligence-powered digital shipyard aimed at modernizing shipbuilding operations in the United States, the companies announced in Washington, D.C. The deal formalizes a long-term technology partnership under which Siemens becomes a key digital partner for HD Hyundai's next-generation shipbuilding and industrial strategy.

Under the arrangement, the two companies plan to deploy Siemens' Xcelerator software portfolio, including tools for ship design, product lifecycle management, manufacturing operations, production simulation and industrial AI orchestration, across HD Hyundai's shipbuilding operations. The goal is to link design, engineering, procurement, production planning and lifecycle management into a single digital thread that shipbuilders can use to speed up production, cut rework and improve quality.

The initiative builds on a memorandum of understanding the two companies signed in November 2025 and is part of HD Hyundai's broader multi-million-dollar investment push in the United States, which aims to expand domestic shipbuilding capacity and rebuild an industrial workforce capable of sustaining both commercial and defense vessel programs. As part of the collaboration, Siemens and HD Hyundai also plan to support the launch of a U.S.-Korea Shipbuilding Technology Cooperation Center in Washington, D.C., intended to bring together government officials, industry executives and technology firms to coordinate modernization efforts.

"As a leader in industrial AI, engineering, manufacturing, simulation, and operational software, Siemens is uniquely positioned to help transform how shipyards design, build and sustain" future vessels, said Tony Hemmelgarn, president and CEO of Siemens Digital Industries Software, describing the effort as an attempt to create a repeatable blueprint for modern shipbuilding rather than a one-off technology rollout.

H.K. Kim, president and CEO of HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, said artificial intelligence "is not merely a tool for improving productivity, but a transformative technology" reshaping how ships are designed, built and operated, adding that the partnership is meant to create a model shipyards worldwide can eventually follow.

Executives from both companies say the digital shipyard model is designed to be adopted in stages, allowing shipyards at different levels of technological maturity — from legacy facilities to advanced naval programs — to modernize without halting ongoing production. Brittany Ng, Siemens' vice president for maritime, said the aim is to help shipbuilders make decisions earlier in the process and avoid costly disruptions once construction is underway.

The tie-up comes as Washington pushes to revive a U.S. shipbuilding sector that has shrunk dramatically compared with shipyards in South Korea, China and Japan, and as HD Hyundai — one of the world's largest shipbuilders — expands its American footprint through investment and technology partnerships covering both commercial vessels and naval programs.