One Viral Clip, 20,000 Robots: Microduck's Meteoric Rise

Hugging Face announced on Thursday that preorders for its Microduck robot reached 20,000 units. The spike in orders followed a viral video from earlier in the week. In the clip, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang plays with the devices during his keynote at the GTC Berlin conference.

The robots perform simple actions like walking, sitting, and falling down to nap. They also execute somersaults when given voice commands. Clem Delangue, head of Hugging Face, shared the preorder figure on social media. He noted the demand arrived just one day after the keynote video spread online.

Hugging Face acquired Pollen Robotics in 2025. Nvidia bought Hugging Face in September 2026. This makes the Microduck an Nvidia product. The robots are open source devices. Pollen Robotics states that owners can teach the units new tricks and share those programs with other users. The basic movements are preloaded using Nvidia’s technology stack.

Delangue suggested the Microduck could become the best-selling robot of the year. He noted that promotional material shows adults interacting with the devices, not just children. The company expects to deliver the units in time for the Christmas holiday season.

This is Hugging Face’s second robot release. The first was the Reachy Mini. The Microduck demo provided a lighter moment during a week where AI industry news focused on cyberattacks. The video showed the robots stomping their feet and making small electronic sounds while Huang interacted with them on stage.

The company has confirmed the production timeline. Units are being prepared for holiday delivery. The open source nature of the hardware allows for community modification. Pollen Robotics handles the development, while Hugging Face manages the sales and distribution.