Good morning, robotics enthusiasts. Hugging Face just acquired the creators of an open-source humanoid — a bold step that fuses open-source AI with robotics in a whole new way.

While critics warn that open-source robots could be easy targets for malicious hackers, Hugging Face is going all in on accessibility — hoping that “democratized” humanoids will fuel the next wave of innovation.

In today’s robotics rundown:

• Hugging Face buys Pollen Robotics

• Harvard’s RoboBee gently lands on a leaf

• RLWRLD raises $15M for robotics AI

• ABB spins off massive $2.3B robotics division

• Quick hits on other robotics news

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

HUGGING FACE

 🤖 Hugging Face buys Pollen Robotics

Image source: Pollen Robotics

The Rundown: Hugging Face — the leading platform for open-source AI models, data, and other resources — just acquired Pollen Robotics, the French startup behind open-source Reachy 2 humanoid, as part of its mission to “democratize” robotics.

The details:

• Reachy 2, which can be teleoperated with VR equipment, is fully open source, can be programmed in Python, and features stereo vision and spatial audio.

• The robot moves on a wheeled mobile base and has advanced robotic arms with seven degrees of freedom and a 3kg lifting capacity (per arm).

• It is already in use at leading research institutions, such as Cornell and Carnegie Mellon, and can be purchased for research and education at $70K.

• The move follows Hugging Face’s 2024 launch of LeRobot, a robotics initiative led by former Tesla robotics lead Remi Cadene.

Why it matters: Hugging Face is blending open-source AI with robotics to unlock new avenues for experimentation and real-world use. It’s a bold sign of where innovation is headed, and part of HF’s push to keep physical AI open, collaborative, and transparent. The company argues this approach actually enhances security, not weakens it.

HARVARD

🐝 Harvard’s RoboBee gently lands on a leaf

Image source: Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

The Rundown: Harvard’s RoboBee—a microbot that can fly, dive, and hover—has been outfitted with a new set of long, jointed legs inspired by the crane fly, marking a breakthrough in its ability to softly land on leaves and branches.

The details:

• RoboBee weighs less than a tenth of a gram and incorporates “artificial muscles” that enable its wings to beat up to 120 times per second.

• The updated control system, detailed in Science Robotics, enables the robot to decelerate as it comes down, further improving landing precision.

• It addresses the challenge of protecting the RoboBee’s piezoelectric actuators and other delicate components from damage during landing.

• RoboBee uses a modular, easy-to-fabricate structure, with innovative “pop-up book” MEMS manufacturing techniques for lightweight assembly.

Why it matters: The team’s ultimate goal is to build a swarm of interconnected microbots capable of sustained, untethered flight for diverse applications, such as crop pollination. While RoboBee is still tethered to an external power source, Harvard plans to further improve the bot based on other insects and even scale up to larger vehicles.

RLWRLD

🧠 RLWRLD raises $15M for robotics AI

Image source: Ideogram/The Rundown

The Rundown: South Korean startup RLWRLD announced that it has raised nearly $15M in funding to develop its foundational AI model to help industrial robots shift from repetitive grunt work to more human-level capacities.

The details:

• By fusing LLMs with traditional robotics software, RLWRLD aims to empower robots with human-like movement and a capacity for logical reasoning.

• The company’s model targets the challenges faced by robots in dynamic environments, such as handling materials and performing nuanced tasks.

• It recently secured $14.8M in seed funding to deploy pilot projects with strategic investors, recruit new talent, and acquire advanced robotic hardware.

• Its product roadmap includes developing advanced five-finger manipulation skills, which could unlock applications in precision assembly and food service.

Why it matters: RLWRLD is a tiny company—just 13 employees—that has attracted big investors across Asia, such as LG Electronics and SK Telecom. The company says access to real-world data via its investors gives it an edge over rivals in the foundational model game, such as Skild AI and Physical Intelligence.

ABB

🦾 ABB spins off massive $2.3B robotics division

Image source: ABB

The Rundown: Global tech giant ABB, which saw its net profits rise to $1.1B from $905M last year, announced it plans to spin off its robotics division, creating the world’s second-largest industrial robotics business behind Japan’s FANUC.

The details:

• Reuters reports that ABB’s robotics division, which employs 7K people, generated $2.3B in revenue last year—about 7% of the group’s total.

• Its robotics portfolio includes industrial robots, autonomous mobile robots, and software and AI solutions, with hubs in Sweden, China, and the U.S.

• The spin-off, set to be completed in 2026, is reportedly the biggest shakeup for ABB since it sold its power grid division to Hitachi in 2018.

• Before this, it acquired Sevensense, a Swiss startup specializing in AI-enabled 3D vision navigation for mobile robots.

Why it matters: The spin-off allows ABB’s robotics business to operate as a pure-play company, optimizing for growth while responding quickly to industry trends. While newer players like Boston Dynamics focus on specific niches, ABB plans to use its vast ecosystem of integrated software and hardware to cast a wide net.

QUICK HITS

📰 Everything else in robotics today

Peppermint, an Indian robotics startup focusing on robots for floor cleaning and material handling, raised $4M in Series A funding.

U.S. robotics startup Cosmic Robotics secured $4M in funding to develop AI-driven robots that can build large-scale solar energy installations.

Daimler Truck North America started delivering its latest flagship on-highway trucks to the autonomous testing fleet of Torc Robotics, a subsidiary of Daimler Truck. 

Johnson & Johnson MedTech announced that it has completed the first cases in a clinical trial for its soft-tissue surgery robot system, OTTAVA.

Toronto-based startup Xaba raised $6M in funding led by Hitachi to accelerate and scale its “synthetic brains for industrial robots with zero code.”

Kodiak Robotics, a California-based autonomous trucking technology company, announced plans to go public through a SPAC merger, valuing it at $2.5B.

Shanghai-based ViTai Robotics raised nearly 100M yuan ($13.8M) to develop visual-tactile sensing systems for humanoids.

Defense startup Saronic purchased boatmaker Gulf Craft and plans to produce a 150-foot-long autonomous vessel, Marauder, off the coast of Louisiana.

Scout AI emerged from stealth with 15M to build foundational models for robots targeted at the defense sector, while also unveiling a VLA called ‘Fury’

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See you soon,

Rowan, Jennifer, and Joey—The Rundown’s editorial team