Hugging Face, a leader in artificial intelligence, recently announced the acquisition of French robotics company Pollen Robotics, marking the official entry of the AI software giant into the physical robotics field. The transaction amount was not disclosed, but it is of great strategic significance and reflects Hugging Face’s determination to promote the development of open and customizable robotics technology.
Strategic layout: from AI to embodied intelligence
The acquisition was led by Remi Cadene, the head of Hugging Face’s robotics project and a former Tesla engineer. Pollen Robotics was founded in 2016 by Matthieu Lapeyre and Pierre Rouanet. Its flagship product, the Reachy series of robots, will become a new member of Hugging Face’s product matrix.
Reachy 2 is the company’s second-generation modular humanoid robot platform designed for AI research and education, with the following core features:
- VR remote operating system
- Stereoscopic visual perception capability
- Spatial audio function
- $70,000 scientific research-level pricing
Currently, top research institutions such as Cornell University and Carnegie Mellon University have adopted the platform. At CES 2025, Reachy 2, equipped with a wheeled base, dual robotic arms and a multifunctional gripper, demonstrated its application potential through VR remote operation.
Deep fit with the open source concept
Pollen Robotics has always adhered to the open source strategy, which is highly consistent with Hugging Face’s open ecosystem concept. Lapeyre, the company’s co-founder, said: “We established the open source core at the beginning of our founding and firmly believed that robots will become the key interface between AI and the physical world. Hugging Face is an ideal platform to realize this vision.”
Hugging Face emphasized that this acquisition will achieve:
- Deep integration of AI software and advanced robot hardware
- Breaking the technical barriers of proprietary systems
- Accelerating the development of the open source robot ecosystem
- Lowering the application threshold of cutting-edge technologies
Thomas Wolf, the company’s chief scientist, pointed out: “Robots may be the next frontier in the development of AI. It must remain open, accessible and privacy-protected. We look forward to building a robot ecosystem where everyone can participate in innovation.”
Industry Trends: The 2025 Robot Summit is about to be held.
Reference: https://www.therobotreport.com/hugging-face-bridges-gap-between-ai-physical-world-pollen-robotics-acquisition/
Image Source：https://www.therobotreport.com/hugging-face-bridges-gap-between-ai-physical-world-pollen-robotics-acquisition/
