Viral Keynote Moment Drives 20,000 Orders for Robot Ducks

A video of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang interacting with a group of small robots during his keynote at the GTC Berlin conference spread across social media earlier this week. The footage showed the devices, known as Microducks, waddling, sitting, and performing somersaults on voice commands. The clip went viral, generating immediate consumer interest in the gadgets.

Clem Delangue, the head of Hugging Face, confirmed the sales spike in a tweet. He stated that preorders for the Microduck exceeded 20,000 units by the day after the conference. The company expects to deliver the devices in time for the Christmas holiday season. Delangue suggested the robots could become the top-selling unit of the year, noting that promotional materials feature adults playing with them alongside children.

The Microduck is an open source device produced by Pollen Robotics. Hugging Face acquired Pollen Robotics in 2025. Nvidia purchased Hugging Face in September, making the robot manufacturer part of the GPU company. This is the second robot line from Hugging Face, following the release of 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. Owners can program new tricks for their units and share the code with the community. The robots emit sounds similar to the droid from the Star Wars films while moving.

The launch occurred during a week when AI involvement in cyberattacks drew industry attention. Despite the serious backdrop, the Microduck demo offered a lighter tone. The rapid uptake in orders indicates strong consumer demand for interactive hardware. The devices are now poised for holiday retail availability.