Hugging Face Doubles Down on Open-Source Innovation with French Robotics Powerhouse Pollen

In a robust testomony to this momentum, Hugging Face, one of many world’s main open-source AI platforms, has acquired Pollen Robotics, a French startup specializing in modular humanoid robots. Although the acquisition quantity stays undisclosed, the transfer is a major one—not simply in enterprise phrases, but additionally symbolically—as Hugging Face circles again to its French origins whereas reinforcing its international enlargement in robotics and AI.

France is quickly establishing itself as one of the vital dynamic AI ecosystems in Europe. As soon as overshadowed by Silicon Valley and London’s tech dominance, France is now rising as a powerhouse—pushed by a potent combine of presidency backing, educational excellence, and a deep cultural embrace of open-source expertise. With high-profile gamers like Mistral AI elevating near €500 million, and fast-growing startups comparable to Photoroom, Nabla, and Poolside turning heads globally, French AI innovation is now not taking part in catch-up—it’s setting the tempo.

Why Pollen Robotics Is a Sport-Changer?

Based in Bordeaux in 2016 by researchers Matthieu Lapeyre and Pierre Rouanet, Pollen Robotics is understood for its dedication to open-source ideas—making it a pure match for Hugging Face’s community-first mannequin. The corporate had earlier raised €2.5 million from backers together with Bpifrance, the French public funding financial institution.

Their flagship product, Reachy, is a humanoid robotic platform designed for training and analysis. The newest model, Reachy 2, is already getting used at elite establishments like Cornell College and Carnegie Mellon College. With options like stereo imaginative and prescient, VR-based teleoperation, and spatialized audio, the robotic presents high-end capabilities in a versatile, modular design. It’s priced at $70,000, concentrating on labs and academic establishments aiming to discover the subsequent frontier in robotics.

Hugging Face’s Broader Robotics Imaginative and prescient

This isn’t Hugging Face’s first step into the world of robotics. In 2023, the corporate collaborated with Pollen Robotics to launch Le Robotic, an open-source assistant designed to carry out fundamental family duties. The success of that mission prompted the formation of a devoted robotics crew at Hugging Face, led by Rémi Cadene, a former engineer on Tesla’s Optimus robotics crew.

With the acquisition of Pollen Robotics, Hugging Face now plans to combine its AI fashions with Reachy 2 {hardware}, permitting builders not simply to make use of the robotic, however to obtain and enhance its codebase. It is a main step towards making clever, programmable robots accessible to the worldwide developer neighborhood.

Hugging Face: A French-Born International Chief

Hugging Face was based in Paris in 2016 by Julien Chaumond, Thomas Wolf, and Clément Delangue. Initially launched as a chatbot app for teenagers, the corporate pivoted to turn into the “GitHub for machine learning,” offering a vast ecosystem of pre-trained AI models and open-source tools. Today, Hugging Face boasts over 1 million monthly active users, and has raised nearly $400 million from leading investors like Sequoia Capital, Google, Amazon, and Coatue.

Although its headquarters are now in New York, Hugging Face’s heart remains in France. Its Paris office is the company’s largest, home to over 70 of its 180 global employees, while another 50 are based across Europe. Co-founder Julien Chaumond has emphasized that a company’s impact is not defined by geography but by its community and values.

Why This Matters for France?

This acquisition isn’t just a strategic move—it’s a statement. France, once seen as a second-tier player in global tech, is now home to world-class talent, research institutions, and a growing investor ecosystem. Lower operational costs compared to Silicon Valley and the rise of hybrid work have made cities like Paris and Bordeaux prime hubs for innovation.

Startups like Hugging Face are showing that it’s not only possible to build globally competitive AI products from France, but that French companies can lead the charge. With Hugging Face actively investing in homegrown talent and now acquiring local innovators like Pollen Robotics, France’s transformation into a global AI superpower is accelerating.

What’s Next?

For Hugging Face, this deal opens up new frontiers in open-source robotics, combining its massive model library with real-world robotic applications. For France, it’s another milestone in its journey to becoming a top destination for AI and robotics investment.

The acquisition also signals a broader shift in the tech world: the era of decentralized, open-source-driven innovation is here—and France is at its center.

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