The robotics industry is witnessing a significant shift toward open-source development as AI company Hugging Face makes a strategic move into the hardware space. The acquisition of French startup Pollen Robotics marks a pivotal moment in the democratization of robotics technology, potentially lowering barriers to entry for researchers and developers worldwide.
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| The homepage of Hugging Face, emphasizing its role as a leading AI community contributing to the robotics industry |
Acquisition Details
Hugging Face has announced the acquisition of Pollen Robotics, the French startup behind the humanoid robot Reachy 2. While financial terms remain undisclosed, the deal includes bringing Pollen's co-founders Matthieu Lapeyre and Pierre Rouanet, along with approximately 20 employees, into the Hugging Face team. Founded in 2016 and based in Bordeaux, Pollen Robotics had previously raised €2.5 million (about $2.8 million) in venture capital funding before the acquisition.
The Reachy 2 Robot
The acquisition centers around Reachy 2, a bug-eyed, two-armed humanoid robot currently priced at $70,000. This robot is designed primarily for academic research, education, and testing embodied AI applications. Several leading AI companies are reportedly using Reachy 2 for research in robotic manipulation, though specific names haven't been disclosed due to confidentiality agreements. The robot has demonstrated capabilities like tidying coffee mugs and picking up fruit, with current deployments at prestigious institutions including Cornell University and Carnegie Mellon University.
Open Source Vision
Clément Delangue, CEO of Hugging Face, emphasizes the importance of open-source development in robotics: It's really important for robotics to be as open source as possible. When you think about physical objects doing physical things at work and at home, the level of trust and transparency I need is much higher than for something I chat with on my laptop. This philosophy aligns with Hugging Face's existing repository of open-source AI models and tools.
Democratizing Robotics Technology
The humanoid robotics space is currently dominated by well-financed companies like Tesla, Figure, and Agility Robotics. Through this acquisition, Hugging Face aims to democratize robotics by making both software and hardware designs more accessible. Thomas Wolf, Hugging Face's co-founder and chief scientist, indicated that the company eventually wants to completely open-source the hardware, allowing anyone to download blueprints for the physical design and potentially manufacture parts using 3D printers.
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| Hugging Face engineers Simon Alibert and Rmi Cadene showcasing their commitment to democratizing robotics technology with interactive humanoid robotics |
Price Reduction Strategy
While the current Reachy 2 model remains relatively expensive at $70,000, Hugging Face has expressed intentions to significantly drive down costs. This aligns with the company's previous efforts in affordable robotics, such as their partnership with The Robot Studio to develop the SO-100 arm—a capable robot arm priced at just $100.
Security and Transparency Benefits
Wolf argues that open-source robots, especially humanoid ones, offer superior security compared to proprietary systems. He points to a recent example where security researchers discovered a backdoor vulnerability in Unitree's robot dog that could allow it to be turned into a surveillance device. With open-source code, more people can scrutinize for security vulnerabilities and develop patches, potentially making these systems safer for real-world deployment.
Hugging Face's Robotics Strategy
This acquisition represents the latest step in Hugging Face's expanding robotics initiative. The company has been steadily building its robotics capabilities, hiring former Tesla Optimus researcher Remi Cadene in March 2024 and launching the LeRobot open-source robotics code library in May. In March 2025, Nvidia selected Hugging Face as its preferred platform for hosting the GR00T N1 open-source AI model for humanoid robots.
Future Applications
Rather than immediately targeting worker replacement, Wolf predicts that the first applications of humanoid robots will focus on public interaction in a fun and interesting way. For household use, he suggests that simple, affordable robot arms might prove useful for tasks like folding clothes. The ultimate vision appears to be bringing descendants of Reachy 2 into people's homes, though industry experts acknowledge that selling humanoid robots remains challenging due to unclear use cases and reliability issues.
AI and Robotics Convergence
The acquisition highlights the growing convergence between AI and robotics. Some prominent researchers argue that AI will need physical embodiment to match or surpass human intelligence, as this may require direct understanding of the physical world. Wolf echoes this sentiment, stating that robotics is going to be the next frontier that AI will unlock and suggesting that embodied AI in robots might help solve remaining challenges to achieving human-like artificial general intelligence.