By Zip Robotic · Wednesday, November 11, 2026
Four stories from November 8–10. At sea, Britain is building a robot-and-sensor net to watch the North Atlantic, and Kongsberg Maritime showed the kind of uncrewed ship that could patrol it. On land, Path Robotics raised $300 million for AI welding robots that already work for shipbuilders, and Google DeepMind put a humanoid to work on Mercedes-Benz production lines.
1. The Royal Navy puts £90M into Atlantic Net
On November 10, the UK Ministry of Defence announced a £90 million investment in new drones, underwater sensors and AI systems for the Royal Navy. Known as Atlantic Net, it is a new network of autonomous systems across the North Atlantic: sensors to help detect Russian submarines and other hostile activity, and uncrewed systems that can patrol the depths. Together they will form a single surveillance service that gives sub-hunting warships and Astute-class submarines earlier warning and a clearer picture of what is happening beneath the surface.
The work comes through a new framework with Hampshire-based Ocean Infinity Solutions, which the ministry says will support almost 200 skilled jobs. Ocean Infinity says it has been selected as the Royal Navy’s Commercial Mission Partner for Atlantic Net. “It is a significant step forward in how naval capability can be delivered, using uncrewed and autonomous systems at a scale that has not been seen before,” said Joe Robinson, President of Solutions at Ocean Infinity. The announcement was made at the International Sea Power Conference in Oslo, Norway.
Why it matters: Atlantic Net is the first phase of Atlantic Bastion, the Royal Navy’s plan for a hybrid fleet of crewed and uncrewed vessels to track submarines and protect the undersea cables and energy networks that connect the UK and its allies. “The threats beneath the North Atlantic are changing, and we are changing with them,” said defence minister Luke Pollard.
Source: UK Ministry of Defence, Nov 10, 2026; Ocean Infinity, Nov 10, 2026
2. Kongsberg unveils Arctic Hunter, a robot ship built to hunt subs
On November 9 in Oslo, Norway’s Kongsberg Maritime unveiled the Arctic Hunter USV, a new class of uncrewed surface vessel for anti-submarine work in the High North. Kongsberg took one of its proven Arctic commercial ship designs and adapted it for the Royal Navy’s Type 92 anti-submarine requirement. The ship carries Thales UK submarine-hunting sonar and secure military communications, with deck space for other mission systems, and is designed to operate from a forward support base inside the Arctic Circle.
Kongsberg says its uncrewed vessel technology already has flag-state approval from classification society DNV and the Norwegian Maritime Authority. It plans to build the ships with long-term partner Balaena Maritime at its Birkenhead yard, ready for militarisation and operational deployment by the end of this decade. “Atlantic security is an absolute priority,” said Kongsberg Maritime CEO Lisa Edvardsen Haugan.
Why it matters: It is a commercial-shipbuilding approach to sub hunting: a proven hull built at commercial pace, with the military kit added by the defence industry. Kongsberg says it will sign technology collaboration agreements with Thales UK and Balaena Maritime this week.
Source: Kongsberg Maritime, Nov 9, 2026
3. Path Robotics raises $300M for AI welding robots
On November 10, Columbus, Ohio-based Path Robotics announced a $300 million Series E at a $2.45 billion post-money valuation, led by AI-focused growth equity firm Georgian. Existing investors Addition, Drive Capital, IronArc Ventures, Tiger Global and Yamaha Motor Ventures joined, along with new investors D. E. Shaw Ventures and NAVER Ventures. Path says its annual recurring revenue grew 17-fold over the past 18 months.
Path’s physical AI welding model, Obsidian, lets robots find weld joints, plan and make welds, and adapt as conditions change. Its customers include shipbuilder HII, Lockheed Martin and robot-boat maker Saronic, and earlier this year it signed a $600 million performance-based production agreement with HII for U.S. Navy shipbuilding programs. “Our goal isn’t to automate one step, but to automate the entire factory,” said CEO and co-founder Andy Lonsberry.
Why it matters: The money will take Path beyond welding into other manufacturing tasks and new robot form factors, plus more AI model training. Shipyards are a big part of the story: HII says partnering with physical AI companies like Path will help it increase throughput in shipbuilding fabrication.
Source: Path Robotics, Nov 10, 2026; Business Wire, Nov 10, 2026
4. Gemini Robotics 2.5 gets a humanoid to 96% on a car line
On November 10, Google DeepMind introduced Gemini Robotics 2.5, which it calls its most capable vision-language-action model to date. Tested across 200 tasks, from serving food with tongs to tying a bow on a gift box, it reached a 30% to 100% higher success rate than earlier baselines, depending on the task, while finishing tasks 20% to 30% faster.
In a proof-of-concept with Apptronik and Mercedes-Benz on active production lines in Kecskemét, Hungary, and Sindelfingen, Germany, Apptronik’s Apollo 2 humanoid used the model to sort metal car parts from bulk bins into sequencing trays, with a 96% success rate. “This is what we built Apollo for: useful work alongside people in real industrial settings,” said Apptronik CEO Jeff Cardenas.
Why it matters: DeepMind says Gemini Robotics 2.5 is rolling out to its robotics partners. It also released ASIMOV-Jailbreak, an open-source benchmark that tests whether robots can be tricked into unsafe actions.
Source: Google DeepMind, Nov 10, 2026
Also noted
- MARTAC said on Nov 9 it delivered two Devil Ray T38 uncrewed surface vessels to the Philippine Marine Corps and opened an Unmanned Center of Excellence in the Philippines for training, maintenance and spare parts. MARTAC, Nov 9, 2026
- Already covered: Axon’s additional $1.2 billion investment in drone maker Skydio. Our full story (Nov 10)
The pattern
From the seabed to the factory floor: navies want uncrewed ships and sensors that can keep a persistent watch, and the shipyards building them want robots that can weld. Which story matters most? Tell us on X @ZipRobotic.
Roundups every Wednesday and Sunday at ziprobotic.com.
Sources
- UK Ministry of Defence, “£90 million investment for new drones and sensors to protect undersea cables and hunt Russian submarines,” Nov 10, 2026 — https://www.gov.uk/government/news/90-million-investment-for-new-drones-and-sensors-to-protect-undersea-cables-and-hunt-russian-submarines
- Ocean Infinity, “Ocean Infinity selected as Commercial Mission Partner for Royal Navy Atlantic Net programme,” Nov 10, 2026 — https://oceaninfinity.com/news/ocean-infinity-selected-as-commercial-mission-partner-for-royal-navy-atlantic-net-programme/
- Kongsberg Maritime, “Kongsberg Maritime launches Arctic Hunter USV for the Hybrid Navy,” Nov 9, 2026 — https://www.kongsbergmaritime.com/news-and-events/news-archive/2026/kongsberg-maritime-launches-arctic-hunter-usv-for-the-hybrid-navy/
- Path Robotics, “Path Robotics Announces $300 Million Series E Financing at $2.45 Billion Valuation to Scale Physical AI for Manufacturing,” Nov 10, 2026 — https://www.path-robotics.com/news/path-robotics-announces-300-million-series-e-led-by-georgian (also on Business Wire)
- Google DeepMind, “Gemini Robotics 2.5 accelerates real-world general dexterity,” Nov 10, 2026 — https://deepmind.google/blog/gemini-robotics-2-5-accelerates-real-world-physical-intelligence/
- MARTAC, “MARTAC Delivers Devil Ray Unmanned Surface Vehicles and Opens Unmanned Center of Excellence to Bolster Philippine Maritime Defense,” Nov 9, 2026 — https://martacsystems.com/martac-delivers-devil-ray-unmanned-surface-vehicles-and-opens-unmanned-center-of-excellence-to-bolster-philippine-maritime-defense/
Images: Royal Navy (Ocean Infinity Armada vessel), Kongsberg Maritime (Arctic Hunter USV), Path Robotics (welding cell), Google DeepMind (Apollo 2 humanoids). Used from each organisation’s own press materials.