Hugging Face Acquires Pollen Robotics to Push Open-Source AI Into the Physical World
AI powerhouse Hugging Face acquires French humanoid robot maker Pollen Robotics to advance open-source embodied AI. The deal brings Pollen's Reachy 2 robot and its 20 employees under Hugging Face's umbrella.
AI company Hugging Face expands into the physical world by acquiring French humanoid robotics startup Pollen Robotics. The financial details of the deal remain undisclosed, but Pollen's co-founders and approximately 20 employees join Hugging Face. This strategic move aligns with Hugging Face's belief that robotics represents the next major frontier for artificial intelligence.
Through this acquisition, Hugging Face takes over the sales of Pollen's Reachy 2, a $70,000 humanoid robot designed for academic research and testing "embodied AI" applications. Researchers at institutions like Cornell University and Carnegie Mellon University currently use this open-source-friendly robot. Hugging Face plans to leverage its expertise in open-weight AI models to enhance the software running on these physical machines.
Hugging Face co-founder Thomas Wolf emphasizes that humanoid robots must be controlled by open-source AI models to ensure safety and security. He points to recent vulnerabilities in other robotics systems as proof that open-source code allows for broader security scrutiny. While the current Reachy 2 model carries a high price tag, Hugging Face aims to drive down costs to make open-source robotics more accessible in the future.