Microduck preorders reach 20,000 after viral demo

Consumers secured over 20,000 units of the Microduck robot within 24 hours of a public demonstration in Berlin. Hugging Face co-founder Clem Delangue confirmed the preorder total in a social media post on Wednesday. The surge followed a viral video of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang interacting with the devices during his keynote at the GTC conference earlier this week.

The small robots perform programmed behaviors including sitting, falling over, and somersaulting on voice command. They also produce small mechanical sounds. Huang was filmed playing with a group of the units, which drew widespread attention on social platforms. The video spread quickly, driving immediate interest in the product.

Delangue stated that the Microducks are expected to be delivered in time for the holiday season. He suggested the devices could become the best-selling robot of the year, noting that promotional materials feature adults using the robots as well as children. The company aims to position the product as a versatile companion rather than a toy limited to a specific age group.

The Microducks are open source devices manufactured by Pollen Robotics. Hugging Face acquired Pollen Robotics in 2025, and Nvidia subsequently purchased Hugging Face in September. This chain of acquisitions places the robot manufacturer under the ownership of the GPU maker. The device represents the second robot from the Hugging Face portfolio, following the Reachy Mini.

Pollen Robotics trained the Microducks using Nvidia’s technology stack. Simulations taught the robots basic movements such as walking, sitting, and standing before they were shipped to customers. Owners can teach the devices new tricks and share those programs with the wider community. The open source model allows users to modify and expand the robot’s capabilities directly.