"The winners of the physical artificial intelligence (AI) era will not be those with the most advanced robot technology, but companies ready to deploy it on the ground. Korean companies with a strong manufacturing base are well positioned to secure market leadership."
Michael Perry, Head of Commercial Strategy at Persona AI and an expert in robot commercialization and AI business strategy, emphasized that "Korea is the only market where technology, field and demand coexist simultaneously," adding that "Korea will become the country that defines the global standard in industrial humanoids."
In an interview with Seoul Economic Daily on the 3rd, Perry assessed that Korea stands at an advantageous starting line in the global physical AI race. He cited the country's industrial structure centered on heavy industries such as shipbuilding, steel and energy, the availability of real-world deployment sites, and the ecosystem of large corporations capable of converting these into demand. "Cases where all three elements coexist within a single country are very rare," Perry said. "Korea has an environment where technology can move beyond experimentation to validation and scaling in actual industrial settings."
The strengthening of partnerships between Persona AI, a U.S.-based industrial humanoid robot specialist, and Korean companies such as POSCO and HD Hyundai (267250.KS) stems from this assessment. "What matters in the early market is not technology demonstrations but repeated application and expansion in actual operating environments," he explained. "Korean industrial sites are among the few places where such validation and diffusion can be pursued simultaneously."
However, Perry advised that while Korea's solid manufacturing base gives it an edge in real-world application, sustained advancement of deployment frameworks is required to translate this into a competitive advantage. "Without parallel efforts in field deployment readiness, industrial data acquisition, collaboration with global companies and policy support, maintaining the gap will be difficult," Perry said. "If these elements are in place, Korea could widen the gap with competing nations by 12 to 18 months or more."
Perry will analyze and forecast the global physical AI industry in a keynote speech at "Seoul Forum 2026," to be held on the 27th and 28th of this month at the Shilla Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul. Now in its 17th year, this year's Seoul Forum will focus on the restructuring of industrial landscapes in the AI era and future growth engines under the theme "New Core, New Industry."
