Software developer Hugging Face has created a goofy gnome-sized robot for AI research that only costs US$300.
The company started taking orders for Reachy Mini Lite on Jul. 9 and is very pleased about it. More than half a million people requested one in less than 24 hours. They will start getting shipped out in August.
The wireless version of the robot, priced at US$449 + taxes and shipping, won’t be available until later this year.
Trying to summarize everything little Reachy is capable of is a daunting task. Hugging Face says it is essentially the ultimate low-cost experimentation tool for artificial intelligence enthusiasts, coders and gear heads.
“This. Is. Insane,” commented one Swiss robotics geek. “Most robots are either too expensive or too complex for everyday creators.”
Hugging Face created Reachy Mini’s first prototype in May following its transformative acquisition of Pollen Robotics in April.
This merger combined the machine learning expertise of Hugging Face with the hardware capabilities of Pollen. Reachy Mini is a bite-sized spin off of Pollen’s flagship robot: Reachy2.
Reachy2. Photo credit: Pollen Robotics
Big Reachy is a highly advanced humanoid robot that costs US$70,000. Reachy Mini, on the other hand, is intended to be easily accessible to the masses with a much lower price tag.
“Whether you’re an AI developer, hacker, researcher, teacher, robot enthusiast, or just coding with your kids on the weekend, Reachy Mini lets you develop, test, deploy, and share real-world AI applications from your desk,” said Hugging Face, “using the latest AI models!”
Its head and body are capable of moving and rotating in several directions and its equipped with an array of cameras, microphones and speakers.
“A dream come true,” proclaimed Hugging Face co-founder and Chief Science Officer, Thomas Wolf.
“Cute and low priced, hackable yet easy to use, powered by open-source and the infinite community.”
Hugging Face expects to receive approximately 100,000 pre-orders for personal robots by the end of 2025. The successful tech creator is currently worth over US$4.5 billion.
Opening orders for Reachy Mini today, our open-source desktop robot for AI builders, starting at $299! Fully integrated with @LeRobotHF & @huggingface for the whole community to build AI apps for it (like this dancing one).
We'll probably ship a first batch of a hundred this… pic.twitter.com/9Bf3YMeGWa
— clem 🤗 (@ClementDelangue) July 9, 2025
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