Valstad Shipworks
Valstad builds AI-enabled manufacturing systems for distributed ship production and repair, combining modular robotic cells with phased-array laser welding that achieves single-pass welding of thick steel 5-6x faster than traditional methods while cutting consumables by up to 90%. Its AI-driven planning engine generates complete build sequences from 3D models, eliminating months of manual process engineering.
- Manufacturing / Industry 4.0
- Industrial Automation
- Robotics
- Artificial Intelligence
- Hardware
Funding
Founders
Founder details are not available yet.
Product
Problem
American shipbuilding capacity has declined dramatically, with the U.S. building only 0.13% of the world's ships while facing record demand and vanishing labor. Traditional shipyard automation requires large footprints and extensive manual process engineering, making it difficult to rapidly scale production and repair capacity.
Solution
Valstad builds AI-enabled manufacturing systems for distributed ship production and repair, including structural panel kits and autonomous robotic fabrication cells. The company's modular robotic cells perform common shipbuilding operations autonomously—primary stiffening, micropanel and T-beam fabrication, and material handling—in a smaller footprint than traditional shipyard automation. Valstad's phased-array laser welding technology enables single-pass welding of thick structural steel with minimal distortion, achieving 5-6x faster speeds than SAW or MIG for long seams while reducing consumables by up to 90%. An AI-driven planning engine takes a 3D model and generates a complete build sequence covering every cut, weld, robotic motion, and inspection point, and can replan on the fly when changes occur.
Target Audience
Primary customers are shipyards and industrial partners seeking to increase throughput and reduce downtime in shipbuilding and repair operations, as well as defense and maritime industrial base stakeholders.
Features
- Modular robotic cells for autonomous primary stiffening, micropanel and T-beam fabrication, and material handling in a compact footprint
- Phased-array laser welding technology delivering single-pass welding of thick structural steel with minimal distortion
- AI-driven production planning engine that generates complete build sequences from 3D models, including cuts, welds, robotic motions, and inspection points
- Real-time replanning capability that adapts build sequences on the fly for rapid turnaround on novel panel designs
- Open-source FANUC robot control library (fanuc_ucl) in Rust and Python, enabling robot integration without ROS