Hugging Face Launches Pre-Orders for Reachy Mini Desktop Robots

Hugging Face invites developers to explore its latest robotics innovation.

The AI platform announced Wednesday that it’s now accepting pre-orders for its Reachy Mini desktop robots. The company first showcased prototypes of these devices in May, alongside a larger humanoid robot, HopeJR.

Hugging Face will offer two Reachy Mini variants. The Reachy Mini Wireless, priced at $449, operates on a Raspberry 5 mini computer and requires no cables. The Reachy Mini Lite, at $299, needs a wired connection to a computing source.

These open-source robots come as DIY kits for developers. Roughly the size of a typical stuffed animal, they feature two screens for eyes and dual antennas.

Once assembled, the robots are fully programmable in Python, include pre-installed demos, and integrate with the Hugging Face Hub, providing access to over 1.7 million AI models and 400,000 datasets.

Clém Delangue, CEO of Hugging Face, told TechCrunch the two Reachy Mini versions were developed based on feedback from early testers, including one whose five-year-old daughter wanted to carry the robot around the house.

“Our goal is to keep gathering user and community feedback, which has always guided our product development as an open-source platform,” Delangue said. “Being open source, users can extend, modify, and customize it as they wish.”

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Delangue noted that the Reachy Mini targets AI developers, enabling them to code, build, and test AI applications directly on the desktop robot.

“Developers can create custom features and apps for Reachy Mini and share them with the community,” Delangue said. “We hope this sparks creativity, leading to millions of unique applications and features for users to plug and play.”

The Reachy Mini Lite is set to ship next month, with the wireless version following later this year. Delangue emphasized the importance of quick delivery to get the robots into users’ hands without lengthy pre-order delays.

Delangue said this launch aligns with Hugging Face’s broader robotics vision: open-source hardware that empowers users with full control.

“Open-source robotics is critical for the future, avoiding closed systems controlled by a few companies,” Delangue said. “I’d rather live in a world where everyone can control and understand the robots around them.”