Hugging Face Launches Reachy Mini: An Affordable, Open-Source Desktop Robot for AI Developers

Hugging Face opens up orders for its Reachy Mini desktop robots | TechCrunch

Hugging Face is ready for developers to start tinkering and testing its latest robotics release. The AI development platform announced Wednesday that it's now accepting orders for its Reachy Mini desktop robots. The company initially unveiled the prototypes of these devices back in May, alongside a larger humanoid robot named HopeJR. Hugging Face said it plans to release two versions of the Reachy Mini. The first, called the Reachy Mini Wireless, is wireless and costs $449 and runs on a Raspberry 5 mini computer. The second version is the Reachy Mini Lite, which needs to be connected to a computing source ,but is cheaper at $299. The open source robots come in a kit for developers to build themselves. The Reachy Minis are about the size of a standard stuffed animal and come with two screens for eyes and two antennas. Once built, these robots are fully programmable in Python. These devices also come with a set of pre-installed demos and are integrated with the Hugging Face Hub, the company's open source machine learning platform, which gives users access to more than 1.7 million AI models and more than 400,000 datasets. Clém Delangue, the CEO of Hugging Face, told TechCrunch they decided to launch two versions of the Reachy Mini based on initial feedback on the company's original prototype. An early tester found that their five-year-old daughter wanted to be able to take the desktop robot around the house with her. The company figured she wouldn't be the only one. "The goal in the future is to keep carefully getting a lot of feedback like that from users, from the community, that's how we've always been building products at Hugging Face as an open source community platform," Delangue said. "By the nature of it being open source, it means that people will be able to extend it, modify it, change everything they want." The target audience for these devices is AI developers, Delangue said. The Reachy Minis allow users to code, build, and test AI applications on the desktop robot. "Anyone will be able to build their own specific features and apps for Reachy Mini that then they'll be able to share with the community," Delangue said. "So we hope that it's really going to unleash the creativity of builders to build, you know, millions of different applications, millions of different features that they can share with the community, so that anyone can then, like, plug and play with it." The Reachy Mini Lite should start shipping next month, with the wireless version shipping later this year. Delangue said it was important for the company to start shipping shortly after orders, as opposed to doing a long pre-order process with an unclear timeline, because they want to get the robots in users' hands as fast as possible. Delangue added this release is really in line with what Hugging Face is targeting for its robotics program in general -- open source hardware that gives users complete control. "I feel like it's really important for the future of robotics to be open source, instead of being closed source, black box, [and] concentrated in the hands of a few companies," Delangue said. "I think it's quite a scary world to have like millions of robots in people's home controlled by one company, with customers, users, not really being able to control them, understand them. I would much rather live in a place, or in a world, or in a country, where everyone can have some control over the robots."

You can now pre-order Hugging Face's Reachy Mini robots

Hugging Face has launched a new AI-powered robot called the Reachy Mini. Described by its maker in a new as an "expressive, open-source robot designed for human-robot interaction, creative coding, and AI experimentation," the Reachy Mini is targeted at anyone with an interest in this growing field of robotics. Its various functions and behaviors can be coded in Python, with support for JavaScript and Scratch due to be added later. As you might have guessed from the name, the Reachy Mini is a compact robot, measuring just 28cm tall and 16cm wide. This means you can easily place it next to your computer on a desk, or the kitchen island while you cook. It comes in variants: the fully autonomous Reachy Mini, which is powered by a Raspberry Pi 5 and can run wirelessly from a built-in battery; and the wired-only Reachy Mini Lite, which currently only works with Mac and Linux. Hugging Face notes the Lite is still in early development. It also lacks the accelerometer that the pricier model has. Otherwise, both robots are broadly similar, with both featuring two animated antennas, full body rotation and six degrees of head movement, as well as a single wide-angle camera and a 5W speaker. They both have microphones, but the Reachy Mini has four, while the Lite has only two. They're sold as buildable kits that you assemble yourself. More than 15 demos can be accessed on the Hugging Face hub at launch, so you can start messing around straight away, and anything you program yourself can be shared with the Hugging Face community (and vice versa), which the company says has more than 10 million members. Hugging Face is taking orders for the $299 Reachy Mini Lite and $449 wireless Reachy Mini now, with the former expected to ship late summer 2025, and the more fully-featured model rolling out in batches from fall through 2026.

Hugging Face introduces open-source desktop robot for $299

Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust. TL;DR: Hugging Face has unveiled Reachy Mini, a compact and open-source robot designed to make advanced robotics and artificial intelligence more accessible to a broad audience. Starting at $299, Reachy Mini stands just 11 inches tall and is intended to sit comfortably on a desktop, offering an entry point for developers, educators, and hobbyists eager to experiment with AI-powered machines. Unlike traditional robotics systems that often come with hefty price tags and proprietary software, Reachy Mini is fully programmable in Python, with support for JavaScript and Scratch on the horizon. The robot is available in two versions: a lite model that requires an external computer, and a wireless, fully autonomous version equipped with a Raspberry Pi 5, battery, and Wi-Fi connectivity. Both versions are sold as kits. Reachy Mini is designed for expressive interaction, featuring a motorized head, body rotation, and animated antennas. It includes a wide-angle camera, microphones, and a speaker, enabling both audio and visual engagement. At launch, users can access over 15 pre-installed behaviors, such as face and hand tracking or dancing, directly from the Hugging Face hub. Users can also download, share, and create new robot applications through the company's community platform. The launch of Reachy Mini follows Hugging Face's acquisition of Pollen Robotics, a French startup known for its commitment to open-source hardware. This acquisition marked Hugging Face's most significant step into the hardware space, expanding from its roots as an AI software platform. By releasing all hardware designs, software, and simulation environments as open source, the company aims to foster a community-driven ecosystem where developers can freely modify, enhance, and share their creations. This approach also allows users to inspect code, understand data flows, and run AI models locally, reducing reliance on cloud services and avoiding the limitations of proprietary systems. The company's entry into hardware is not without challenges though. Manufacturing, quality control, and logistics present complexities unfamiliar to software businesses. To address this, Hugging Face is initially shipping Reachy Mini in partially assembled kits, engaging early adopters in the assembly process and gathering feedback to refine future iterations. As the robotics market continues to evolve, Hugging Face's approach challenges established players by prioritizing openness, affordability, and community engagement. Whether or not Reachy Mini becomes a fixture on desktops (at least among developers and enthusiasts), its arrival signals a shift toward more democratized and transparent robotics.

Hugging Face just launched a $299 robot that could disrupt the entire robotics industry

Want smarter insights in your inbox? Sign up for our weekly newsletters to get only what matters to enterprise AI, data, and security leaders. Subscribe Now Hugging Face, the $4.5 billion artificial intelligence platform that has become the GitHub of machine learning, announced Tuesday the launch of Reachy Mini, a $299 desktop robot designed to bring AI-powered robotics to millions of developers worldwide. The 11-inch humanoid companion represents the company's boldest move yet to democratize robotics development and challenge the industry's traditional closed-source, high-cost model. The announcement comes as Hugging Face crosses a significant milestone of 10 million AI builders using its platform, with CEO Clément Delangue revealing in an exclusive interview that "more and more of them are building in relation to robotics." The compact robot, which can sit on any desk next to a laptop, addresses what Delangue calls a fundamental barrier in robotics development: accessibility. "One of the challenges with robotics is that you know you can't just build on your laptop. You need to have some sort of robotics partner to help in your building, and most people won't be able to buy $70,000 robots," Delangue explained, referring to traditional industrial robotics systems and even newer humanoid robots like Tesla's Optimus, which is expected to cost $20,000-$30,000. How a software company is betting big on physical AI robots Reachy Mini emerges from Hugging Face's April acquisition of French robotics startup Pollen Robotics, marking the company's most significant hardware expansion since its founding. The robot represents the first consumer product to integrate natively with the Hugging Face Hub, allowing developers to access thousands of pre-built AI models and share robotics applications through the platform's "Spaces" feature. The timing appears deliberate as the AI industry grapples with the next frontier: physical AI. While large language models have dominated the past two years, industry leaders increasingly believe that artificial intelligence will need physical embodiment to achieve human-level capabilities. Goldman Sachs projects the humanoid robotics market could reach $38 billion by 2035, while the World Economic Forum identifies robotics as a critical frontier technology for industrial operations. "We're seeing more and more people moving to robotics, which is extremely exciting," Delangue said. "The idea is to really become the desktop, open-source robot for AI builders." Inside the $299 robot that could democratize AI development Reachy Mini packs sophisticated capabilities into its compact form factor. The robot features six degrees of freedom in its moving head, full body rotation, animated antennas, a wide-angle camera, multiple microphones, and a 5-watt speaker. The wireless version includes a Raspberry Pi 5 computer and battery, making it fully autonomous. The robot ships as a DIY kit and can be programmed in Python, with JavaScript and Scratch support planned. Pre-installed demonstration applications include face and hand tracking, smart companion features, and dancing moves. Developers can create and share new applications through Hugging Face's Spaces platform, potentially creating what Delangue envisions as "thousands, tens of thousands, millions of apps." This approach contrasts sharply with traditional robotics companies that typically release one product annually with limited customization options. "We want to have a model where we release tons of things," Delangue explained. "Maybe we'll release 100 prototypes a year. Out of this 100 prototypes, maybe we'll assemble only 10 ourselves... and maybe fully assembled, fully packaged, fully integrated with all the software stack, maybe there's going to be just a couple of them." Why open source hardware might be the future of robotics The launch represents a fascinating test of whether open-source principles can translate successfully to hardware businesses. Hugging Face plans to release all hardware designs, software, and assembly instructions as open source, allowing anyone to build their own version. The company monetizes through convenience, selling pre-assembled units to developers who prefer to pay rather than build from scratch. "You try to share as much as possible to really empower the community," Delangue explained. "There are people who, even if they have all the recipes open source to build their own Reachy Mini, would prefer to pay 300 bucks, 500 bucks, and get it already ready, or easy to assemble at home." This freemium approach for hardware echoes successful software models but faces unique challenges. Manufacturing costs, supply chain complexity, and physical distribution create constraints that don't exist in pure software businesses. However, Delangue argues this creates valuable feedback loops: "You learn from the open source community about what they want to build, how they want to build, and you can reintegrate it into what you sell." The privacy challenge facing AI robots in your home The move into robotics raises new questions about data privacy and security that don't exist with purely digital AI systems. Robots equipped with cameras, microphones, and the ability to take physical actions in homes and workplaces create unprecedented privacy considerations. Delangue positions open source as the solution to these concerns. "One of my personal motivations to do open source robotics is that I think it's going to fight concentration of power... the natural tendency of creating black box robots that users don't really understand or really control," he said. "The idea of ending up in a world where just a few companies are controlling millions of robots that are in people's homes, being able to take action in real life, is quite scary." The open-source approach allows users to inspect code, understand data flows, and potentially run AI models locally rather than relying on cloud services. For enterprise customers, Hugging Face's existing enterprise platform could provide private deployment options for robotics applications. From prototype to production: Hugging Face's manufacturing gamble Hugging Face faces significant manufacturing and scaling challenges as it transitions from a software platform to a hardware company. The company plans to begin shipping Reachy Mini units as early as next month, starting with more DIY-oriented versions where customers complete final assembly. "The first versions, the first orders shipping will be a bit DIY, in the sense that we'll split the weight of assembling with the user," Delangue explained. "We'll do some of the assembling ourselves, and then the user will be doing some of the assembling themselves too." This approach aligns with the company's goal of engaging the AI builder community in hands-on robotics development while managing manufacturing complexity. The strategy also reflects uncertainty about market demand for the new product category. Taking on Tesla and Boston Dynamics with radical transparency Reachy Mini enters a rapidly evolving robotics landscape. Tesla's Optimus program, Figure's humanoid robots, and Boston Dynamics' commercial offerings represent the high-end of the market, while companies like Unitree have introduced more affordable humanoid robots at around $16,000. Hugging Face's approach differs fundamentally from these competitors. Rather than creating a single, highly capable robot, the company is building an ecosystem of affordable, modular, open-source robotics components. Previous releases include the SO-101 robotic arm (starting at $100) and plans for the HopeJR humanoid robot (around $3,000). The strategy reflects broader trends in AI development, where open-source models from companies like Meta and smaller players have challenged closed-source leaders like OpenAI. In January, Chinese startup DeepSeek shocked the industry by releasing a powerful AI model developed at significantly lower cost than competing systems, demonstrating the potential for open-source approaches to disrupt established players. Building an ecosystem: The partnerships powering open robotics Hugging Face's robotics expansion benefits from strategic partnerships across the industry. The company collaborates with NVIDIA on robotics simulation and training through Isaac Lab, enabling developers to generate synthetic training data and test robot behaviors in virtual environments before deployment. The recent release of SmolVLA, a 450-million parameter vision-language-action model, demonstrates the technical foundation underlying Reachy Mini. The model is designed to be efficient enough to run on consumer hardware, including MacBooks, making sophisticated AI capabilities accessible to individual developers rather than requiring expensive cloud infrastructure. Physical Intelligence, a startup co-founded by UC Berkeley professor Sergey Levine, has made its Pi0 robot foundation model available through Hugging Face, creating opportunities for cross-pollination between different robotics approaches. "Making robotics more accessible increases the velocity with which technology advances," Levine noted in previous statements about open-source robotics. What a $299 robot means for the billion-dollar AI hardware race The Reachy Mini launch signals Hugging Face's ambition to become the dominant platform for AI development across all modalities, not just text and image generation. With robotics representing a potential $38 billion market by 2035, according to Goldman Sachs projections, early platform positioning could prove strategically valuable. Delangue envisions a future where hardware becomes an integral part of AI development workflows. "We see hardware as part of the AI builder building blocks," he explained. "Always with our approach of being open, being community driven, integrating everything with as many community members, as many other organizations as possible." The company's financial position provides flexibility to experiment with hardware business models. As a profitable company with significant funding, Hugging Face can afford to prioritize market development over immediate revenue optimization. Delangue mentioned potential subscription models where Hugging Face platform access could include hardware components, similar to how some software companies bundle services. How affordable robots could transform education and research Beyond commercial applications, Reachy Mini could significantly impact robotics education and research. At $299, the robot costs less than many smartphones while providing full programmability and AI integration. Universities, coding bootcamps, and individual learners could use the platform to explore robotics concepts without requiring expensive laboratory equipment. The open-source nature enables educational institutions to modify hardware and software to suit specific curricula. Students could progress from basic programming exercises to sophisticated AI applications using the same platform, potentially accelerating robotics education and workforce development. Delangue revealed that community feedback has already influenced product development. A colleague's five-year-old daughter wanted to carry the robot around the house, leading to the development of the wireless version. "She started to want to take the Reachy Mini and bring it everywhere. That's when the wires started to be a problem," he explained. The disruption that could reshape the entire robotics industry Hugging Face's approach could fundamentally alter robotics industry dynamics. Traditional robotics companies invest heavily in proprietary technology, limiting innovation to internal teams. The open-source model could unlock distributed innovation across thousands of developers, potentially accelerating advancement while reducing costs. The strategy mirrors successful disruptions in other technology sectors. Linux challenged proprietary operating systems, Android democratized mobile development, and TensorFlow accelerated machine learning adoption. If successful, Hugging Face's robotics platform could follow a similar trajectory. However, hardware presents unique challenges compared to software. Manufacturing quality control, supply chain management, and physical safety requirements create complexity that doesn't exist in purely digital products. The company's ability to manage these challenges while maintaining its open-source philosophy will determine the platform's long-term success. Whether Reachy Mini succeeds or fails, its launch marks a pivotal moment in robotics development. For the first time, a major AI platform is betting that the future of robotics belongs not in corporate research labs, but in the hands of millions of individual developers armed with affordable, open-source tools. In an industry long dominated by secrecy and six-figure price tags, that might just be the most revolutionary idea of all.

The new Reachy Mini robot can let kids turn play into innovation

The Reachy Mini is an exciting new desktop robot aimed primarily at developers, educators, students, and enthusiasts, or basically anyone interested in creative coding. There are actually two of them -- Reachy Mini Lite ($299) and Reachy Mini Wireless ($449) -- and both were developed by the prominent AI platform Hugging Face following its recent acquisition of Pollen Robotics. The two teams collaborated to make the robot a reality, with Pollen Robotics combining its know-how in open-source robotics with Hugging Face's community-driven approach. Impressively, the robot secured $500,000 worth of sales in only its first 24 hours of going live last week. The cute-looking robot measures about 11 inches (28 cm) tall, 6.3 inches (16 cm) wide, and weighs around 3.3 pounds (1.5 kg), ensuring a decent fit for most desktops or tables. The more affordable of the two versions, Reachy Mini Lite, connects to Mac or Linux computers (Windows support is on the way), and for this version shipping is expected to begin toward the end of this summer. The pricier Reachy Mini Wireless, on the other hand, comes with a Raspberry Pi 5, built-in Wi-Fi, and a battery, and will start shipping in batches from late 2025 through 2026. Once you've assembled it, you can have some instant fun by getting Reachy Mini to show off its 15 pre-installed demonstrations and behaviors, among them facial recognition, hand tracking, antenna movements, voice-activated AI conversations, and object manipulation with its arm and gripper -- eliminating the need for you to code from scratch. The fact that it comes with pre-installed demos and a user-friendly setup means that beginners and hobbyists can also use it, especially for educational and exploratory endeavors. But the particularly cool part is that it integrates with the Hugging Face Hub, giving you instant access to numerous AI models and datasets that you can work with to make the robot even more useful and engaging. While so many companion robots -- Jibo and Anki's Cozmo and Vector come to mind -- have fallen short over the years in terms of capability and affordability, it's the community aspect of the Reachy Mini that makes this particular effort so tantalizing. Indeed, the open-source approach means that it's built for collaboration, and supported by a large and active developer and AI community. It means that there are numerous people out there who can, if they wish, build new features for Reachy Mini, all the time boosting its functionality. And it's this community-driven model that gives it a better chance of succeeding where past robots flopped. Even better, the combination of cuteness and potential could really help to inspire a new generation of kids to get interested in robotics and AI, sparking their imagination and making advanced tech like this feel less intimidating and instead far more approachable. Interested in getting one? The Reachy Mini is available now for preorder.

Hugging Face Launches Reachy Mini, Open-Source Robot for AI Enthusiasts and Educators | AIM

Priced from $299, the compact robot targets developers, students and hobbyists Hugging Face, in collaboration with Pollen Robotics, launched Reachy Mini, a desktop-sized open-source robot designed for AI experimentation and education. It is now available for pre-order globally. Developed for human-robot interaction and creative coding, the robot is available in two versions: Lite at $299 and a wireless version at $449. Thomas Wolf, co-founder and chief science officer at Hugging Face, announced in a LinkedIn post that the first deliveries are expected right after the summer of 2025 through 2026. Built for developers, educators and hobbyists, Reachy Mini enables users to program and deploy AI applications using Python. The robot includes multimodal sensors and offers integration with Hugging Face for real-time behaviour sharing and experimentation. The Reachy Mini Lite lacks onboard computing and Wi-Fi, whereas the wireless version is equipped with a Raspberry Pi 5, a battery, and four microphones. While the Lite version is compatible with Mac and Linux, it has not yet been released for Windows. Both variants feature motorised head movement, body rotation, animated antennas, and a wide-angle camera. A speaker and audio-visual interaction capabilities come standard. The robot is currently in the early stages of development. "We're sharing it as-is, without warranties or guarantees, to engage with early adopters and gather feedback," the company mentioned in its announcement. The Mini Lite version consists of two microphones, while the Mini version has four and measures 11 "/28cm in height and 6.3"/16cm in width, weighing 3.3 lbs/1.5 kg. Users can test and deploy behaviours in real life or through simulation. Over 15 preloaded behaviours will be available at launch through the Hugging Face hub. Future programming support will be expanded to include JavaScript and Scratch. Reachy Mini's open-source hardware and software allow for full transparency and community participation. With a modular kit-based assembly, it encourages hands-on learning, coding with children, and collaborative building. Users can join the growing community of over 10 million on Hugging Face to upload, download and evolve new robot behaviours, positioning Reachy Mini as a flexible tool for AI exploration and learning.