Hugging Face's new duck robot is selling fast. A Chinese chip powers it

Hugging Face’s French subsidiary Pollen Robotics launched a duck-shaped programmable robot called Microduck last Thursday, and sales are already moving quickly. The company says it has sold more than 10,000 units, generating over $4 million at the $399 list price, though deliveries for new orders have been pushed beyond an initial target of Christmas 2026. Microduck weighs 800g and runs on Rockchip’s RK3566, which includes technology licensed from British firm ARM. Analysts described Rockchip as a “key vendor” for on-device AI rather than cloud AI. The chipmaker reported a 40% jump in operating revenue in the first half, to 2.88 billion yuan, and a 60%-plus rise in net profit.