Hugging Face bets on open-source humanoids to democratize robotics

Hugging Face, the AI developer platform best known for its work in machine learning and natural language processing, is taking a bold step into hardware. On Thursday, the company unveiled two open-source humanoid robots as part of its growing effort to bring affordable, transparent robotics to a wider developer community.

The robots, named HopeJR and Reachy Mini, aim to lower the barrier to entry in the rapidly advancing field of humanoid robotics. HopeJR is a full-size humanoid boasting 66 degrees of freedom, allowing it to walk, gesture, and perform complex physical interactions. Its smaller counterpart, Reachy Mini, is a desktop-friendly unit capable of speech, auditory interaction, and head movements. It’s ideal for developers looking to prototype AI applications in compact environments.

“The important aspect is that these robots are open source, so anyone can assemble, rebuild, understand how they work, and that they’re affordable, so that robotics doesn’t get dominated by just a few big players with dangerous black-box systems,” Hugging Face CEO Clem Delangue wrote in an email.

That affordability is a key part of the pitch. The company estimates that HopeJR will retail for around $3,000, while Reachy Mini will land between $250 and $300, pending tariffs. A public waitlist is now open, with initial shipments expected to begin later this year.

Thursday’s announcement marks a major milestone in Hugging Face’s robotics journey. It follows the company’s quiet acquisition of Pollen Robotics, a humanoid robotics startup, in April. According to Delangue, the Pollen team brought in “new capabilities” that made the HopeJR and Reachy Mini projects possible.

It’s been a long time coming

In 2024, it launched LeRobot, an open platform featuring AI models, datasets, and tools for robotics development. Since then, it has released an upgraded version of its programmable robotic arm, the SO-101, developed with French partner The Robot Studio, and expanded LeRobot’s dataset to support self-driving AI applications through a partnership with Yaak.

With the launch of HopeJR and Reachy Mini, Hugging Face is setting its sights on democratizing humanoids, making them not just more accessible but open for everyone to build, tweak, and improve.