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In a strategic move to expand its influence beyond software, Hugging Face, a prominent player in the artificial intelligence sector, has officially acquired the French robotics company, Pollen Robotics. This acquisition was announced yesterday, with the financial details remaining undisclosed. This development highlights Hugging Face’s intent to explore robotics as a vital extension of AI technology, promoting a vision of a future that is open, accessible, and customizable.
This venture is spearheaded by Remi Cadene, a former engineer from Tesla, who is leading Hugging Face’s new initiative in robotics. The acquisition brings Pollen Robotics’ flagship creation, Reachy, into the Hugging Face ecosystem. Founded in 2016 by Matthieu Lapeyre and Pierre Rouanet, Pollen Robotics has made significant strides in creating advanced robotic platforms.
Reachy is a modular humanoid robot developed for research and educational purposes. The latest version, known as Reachy 2, features state-of-the-art capabilities including virtual reality (VR) teleoperation, stereo vision, and spatial audio. Priced at approximately $70,000, this sophisticated robot has already found applications in prestigious institutions like Cornell University and Carnegie Mellon University.
During an interaction with Reachy 2 at the CES 2025 event, the robot’s design was showcased, highlighting its wheeled base, dual arms, and pincher-like grippers. Demonstrations were conducted by an operator wearing a VR headset, allowing for a remote, immersive experience.
Hugging Face Envisions a New Era for Robotics
Pollen Robotics has strong ties to the open-source community, a factor that likely influenced Hugging Face’s decision to pursue this acquisition. The company stated that Reachy 2 is particularly suited for experiments in embodied AI.
“Our vision for Pollen Robotics was founded on open-source principles, based on the belief that robots will become essential in bridging AI with our physical environment,” remarked Matthieu Lapeyre, co-founder of Pollen Robotics. “Joining forces with Hugging Face provides us with an opportunity to expand our mission, as we share the same vision of democratizing access to AI and robotics.”
Hugging Face has stated that this acquisition aims to intertwine its advanced AI capabilities with the sophisticated hardware of Reachy. By doing so, they intend to empower researchers and developers to create customizable, open-source robotic systems, overcoming traditional barriers often associated with proprietary technologies.
The leadership team at Hugging Face contends that this integration will catalyze further innovation in robotics, making cutting-edge technologies more accessible to a broader range of users. “We see robotics as the next frontier enabled by AI, and it should be designed to be open, affordable, and respect user privacy,” said Thomas Wolf, co-founder and chief scientist at Hugging Face. “Our goal is for everyone, from hobbyists to large enterprises, to have the ability to develop or utilize robotic assistants or interactive experiences, all based on open foundations rather than closed systems.”
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