Hugging Face Launches Desk Robot: Reachy Mini (and It's Only $299)

Hugging Face has just opened pre-orders for Reachy Mini , a plush toy-sized desktop robot that can be programmed in Python and carried around the house. At $299 for the basic version, they could be the first truly accessible home robots for developers and enthusiasts.

Reachy Mini by Hugging Face: The First Open Source Desk Robot

Hugging Face offers two versions of the Reachy Mini to meet different needs. The idea was born during prototype testing. The five-year-old daughter of one of the beta testers wanted to take the robot with her around the house. She realized they needed two versions: a wireless one for those who want a mobile robotic companion, and a wired one for those who prefer to keep it on their desk.

The Reachy Mini Wireless costs $449, works with a Raspberry Pi 5 , and can move freely without cables. The Reachy Mini Lite , at $299, requires a power source but is significantly cheaper.

Both robots come as self-assembly kits , much like Lego for adults, and are equipped with AI. They have two screens for eyes and two antennas, and are fully programmable in Python . Once assembled, they can access over 1.7 million AI models and 400,000 datasets through the Hugging Face Hub .

Robots for everyone

Clém Delangue, CEO of Hugging Face, has clear ideas about the future: it must be open source, not controlled by a few multinationals. Why can't users understand how robots work or modify them to suit their needs? This is a direct criticism of giants like Boston Dynamics or Tesla , which develop proprietary and closed robots.

These robots aren't intended for families, but rather for AI developers who want to experiment. Anyone will be able to build their own specific features and apps for Reachy Mini , which they can then share with the community , Delangue explains. The idea is to unleash the creativity of thousands of programmers.

The robots come with pre-installed demos , but the real excitement comes when the community starts experimenting. Being open source, each component can be modified, improved, or completely redesigned. This is the approach that has made Hugging Face a benchmark in AI.

When they arrive

The Reachy Mini Lite is expected to start shipping next month, with the wireless version arriving by the end of the year. Delangue wanted to avoid the lengthy pre-orders typical of the tech industry.