Hugging Face Microduck Preorders Top 20,000 After Nvidia CEO Keynote

More than 20,000 preorders for Microduck robots were placed in the day following Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang's appearance with the devices during his keynote at the company's GTC Berlin conference. Clem Delangue of Hugging Face announced the preorder figure in a post on X on October 22, the day after the video of the event circulated. The conference took place earlier in the week, and the video was widely shared after that.

During the keynote, a group of the small robots waddled across the stage, stomping their feet and emitting sounds compared to those of the droid R2-D2. On voice command, the units performed a series of actions, including sitting, falling over into a state described as a nap, and executing a summersault. Preorders passed the 20,000 unit mark by the following day.

Units are scheduled for delivery ahead of the Christmas holiday, a timeline that has led to discussion about the devices' potential standing as a top toy for the season. Delangue stated that the Microduck could be the best-selling robot of the year, adding that the intended audience may not be limited to children. Promotional videos for the device depict adults interacting with the robots.

The Microduck is an open source device from Pollen Robotics, a company acquired by Hugging Face in 2025. Hugging Face, in turn, was purchased by Nvidia in September of this year. The release marks the second robot from Hugging Face, following the Reachy Mini.

The robots were trained with the Nvidia technology stack, a process in which simulated versions of the units learned basic movements such as walking, sitting, and standing. These are the actions the devices are equipped with when shipped. Pollen has indicated that owners can teach their units additional skills and then distribute those instructions to the wider community.

The demonstration of the Microduck occurs against a backdrop of recent news concerning the role of artificial intelligence in cybersecurity incidents that have been reported this week. The video of the robots has been shared as a contrast to those reports, with the hardware's actions on stage presented as an example of the technology's applications in other areas.

The preorder figure and delivery schedule place the device in a position for the remainder of the year, with units expected to arrive for the holiday. The development follows Nvidia's acquisition of Hugging Face in September and the earlier acquisition of Pollen Robotics by Hugging Face in 2025.