Robotis shares surge 9% on strong sales of duck-shaped robot featured by Nvidia CEO

Shares of Robotis surged Monday on strong sales of the Microduck, a small duck-shaped bipedal robot, and growing expectations that the company will expand its actuator supply contracts. Orders for the Microduck spiked after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang mentioned the robot publicly, and Robotis subsequently signed an actuator supply agreement with the robot's developer, fueling hopes of a significant boost to related revenue.

Robotis closed up 21,500 won ($16), or 9.56 percent, at 246,500 won on Monday, according to the Korea Exchange. The stock climbed as high as 256,000 won during trading, a gain of 13.78 percent at its intraday peak.

Robotis signed an actuator supply agreement with Pollen Robotics at its headquarters in Magok-dong, Gangseo-gu, Seoul on Monday. Pollen Robotics initially requested enough actuators for 50,000 robots — 15 actuators per unit — generating demand for a total of 750,000 units.

Analysts point to three factors behind the Microduck's popularity and the mass production it has triggered: its friendly duck-like appearance, technology that mimics the movement of a living creature, and a relatively low price — cute, capable and affordable.

The robot waddles on two legs, falls and gets back up on its own, and can perform a range of other movements. Attach optional wheels and it can even appear to roller-skate. Its beak-like appendage can pick up lightweight objects. The pre-order price is $399, excluding taxes and shipping.

The Microduck was originally developed as a research and education platform for reinforcement learning — a method in which AI learns movements in a virtual environment before applying them to a physical robot. Its software and training tools are open, allowing users to teach the robot new movements and share them with other developers. The robot's approachable duck-shaped design and videos of it in action drew wide attention online, helping it break out of the research-and-development niche and find an audience among general consumers.

Orders surged after Huang mentioned the Microduck publicly. According to Pollen Robotics, roughly 10,000 orders came in within three days of Huang's remarks. The robot's distinctive design and competitive pricing were cited as the main drivers of the order spike.