Case Study
Samsung Heavy Industries establishes first U.S. maritime R&D hub in San Diego with WTCSD support
ServiceInbound Investment Support
ServiceMarket Strategy
ServiceStrategic Partnerships
Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI), one of the world’s leading shipbuilders, selected San Diego State University (SDSU) as the home of its first U.S. research hub, creating a new platform for Korea-U.S. collaboration in shipbuilding, maritime technology, advanced manufacturing, and workforce development.
COMPANY
CHALLENGE
As the United States works to rebuild and modernize a strategically important shipbuilding industry, San Diego had an opportunity to connect its deep maritime and defense legacy with its strengths in advanced technology and innovation. SHI was seeking opportunities to expand its U.S. presence and deepen partnerships around shipbuilding modernization, robotics , automation, AI, robotics, and next-generation maritime technologies and AI-driven innovation. The opportunity was to position San Diego not simply as a location for investment, but as a strategic platform where Korea’s world-class shipbuilding capabilities could connect with San Diego’s research, talent, and industrial assets.
WTCSD SOLUTION AND SUPPORT PROVIDED
EDC’s international team World Trade Center San Diego (WTCSD) made South Korea a strategic priority for global engagement and used its 2023 trade mission to Korea to build relationships with leading Korean companies, including SHI. EDC and WTCSD subsequently supported reverse trade missions and targeted meetings when SHI executives traveled to San Diego, continuing to support SDSU, General Dynamics NASSCO, and other regional stakeholders in their efforts to build new partnerships. In 2026, executives at WTCSD, SDSU, NASSCO, and SAIC returned to Korea to solidify these partnerships.
WTCSD helped translate an international relationship into a concrete investment opportunity by connecting SHI’s technology and business interests with San Diego’s distinctive assets: SDSU’s strengths in AI, robotics, advanced manufacturing, and engineering; NASSCO’s deep shipbuilding capabilities; and the region’s broader maritime, defense, and innovation ecosystem.
The result was a partnership that extends beyond a single investment. In December 2025, SHI, NASSCO, and Korean marine engineering company DSEC signed a tri-party agreement to collaborate on ship design, manufacturing automation, and technology in the U.S. market, including potential work on the U.S. Navy’s Next Generation Logistics Ship.
VALUE DERIVED
In March 2026, SHI and SDSU inaugurated the SHI-SDSU Advanced Maritime Center (SSAM Center)—SHI’s first U.S. research hub. The center will focus on advanced manufacturing, AI and autonomous systems, sustainability, technology commercialization, professional training, internships, and international research exchange.
A platform for future investment, the SSAM Center is designed to connect SHI with U.S. universities, government agencies, and industry, and to identify new research projects and talent. Read more about the SDSU-SHI partnership here.
The investment represents the beginning of a potentially much larger partnership. SHI is already working with NASSCO on ship design, automation, and the Next-Generation Logistics Ship (NGLS) program, while the company has identified San Diego as an ideal location for Korea-U.S. collaboration in shipbuilding research and workforce development.
For San Diego, the opportunity is to build a globally competitive maritime R&D cluster that combines the region’s legacy capabilities in shipbuilding and defense with its emerging strengths in AI, robotics, advanced manufacturing, and clean technology. The project demonstrates EDC’s approach to foreign investment attraction: use international engagement to build relationships, connect global companies to distinctive regional assets, and convert those relationships into long-term investment, innovation and economic opportunity.
“This new partnership with Samsung Heavy Industries reflects the continued evolution of San Diego State University as a hub for San Diego’s innovation ecosystem and a strong partner for advancing this work in our region.”
—Hala Madanat, Vice President for Research and Innovation, San Diego State University
“The Advanced Maritime Center is a natural fit here in San Diego, expanding NASSCO’s 20-plus years of Korean shipbuilding success to include critical new experts and partners from the entire region, aimed at delivering the latest in word-class technologies and best practices to the defense and commercial sectors.”
—Brett Hershman, Director, General Dynamics NASSCO
Connect with SDSU:
To learn more:
Nikia Clarke
Chief Strategy Officer, EDC; Exec. Director, WTCSD