Microduck Robots: Viral Keynote Demo Drives 20,000 Preorders
Hugging Face announced that preorders for the waddling AI devices exceeded 20,000 units following a demonstration by Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang at GTC Berlin.
By Aiko Soto ·
The robotics sector saw an immediate sales surge after a viral video from GTC Berlin this week.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang was filmed interacting with a group of Microduck robots during his keynote address.
The small devices responded to voice commands by sitting, performing somersaults, and mimicking the sounds of the droid R2-D2.
Hugging Face co-founder Clem Delangue confirmed via social media that preorders surpassed 20,000 units within 24 hours of the demonstration.
Microducks are open source hardware originally developed by Pollen Robotics.
Pollen was acquired by Hugging Face in 2025, and Nvidia purchased Hugging Face in September of this year.
This acquisition makes the Microduck the second robot product from the Hugging Face portfolio, following the Reachy Mini.
The devices utilize Nvidia's technology stack for training.
Simulations teach the robots basic movements such as walking, sitting, and standing, which are preloaded on the hardware.
Pollen stated that owners can program new behaviors and share those custom tricks with the wider user community.
Delangue suggested the Microduck could become the best-selling robot of the year.
He noted that marketing materials feature adults using the devices, indicating a target market that extends beyond children.
