Hugging Face acquires Pollen Robotics

2025-04-14 · Publisher : Hugging Face · Domain : Robotics

Hugging Face acquires French start-up Pollen Robotics, maker of the open-source Reachy 2 humanoid, for an undisclosed sum, making open robotics a strategic focus.

What changes

Acquisition of Pollen Robotics, founded in 2016 by Matthieu Lapeyre and Pierre Rouanet, for an undisclosed amount.
Hugging Face sells Reachy 2 and opens its code to developer contributions.
The deal strengthens Hugging Face's robotics team, led by Rémi Cadène, formerly of Tesla Optimus.
It sets the stage for HopeJR and Reachy Mini six weeks later.

### Background On 14 April 2025, Hugging Face, the leading platform for open AI models, announced the acquisition of Pollen Robotics, a French start-up founded in 2016 by Matthieu Lapeyre and Pierre Rouanet. The amount was not disclosed. Pollen had raised €2.5 million, notably from Bpifrance. Hugging Face plans to sell Reachy 2, Pollen's humanoid, while letting developers access and contribute to its source code. Hugging Face co-founder Thomas Wolf said that "robotics is increasingly becoming the next frontier that AI will unlock." ### Deal details | Item | Detail | |---|---| | Acquirer | Hugging Face | | Target | Pollen Robotics (France, founded 2016) | | Amount | Undisclosed | | Flagship product | Reachy 2, open-source humanoid | ### Why it matters Hugging Face adds hardware to its open software ecosystem (LeRobot). The robotics team is led by Rémi Cadène, formerly of Tesla's Optimus team. ### Key takeaway Six weeks later, Hugging Face announced HopeJR and Reachy Mini, two affordable robots born of this alliance.

Hugging Face acquires Pollen Robotics

What changes

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