Based in Beijing, a popular new programmable personal robot from a Franco‑American firm runs on a chip from Shanghai‑listed Rockchip, which itself relies on technology from the British company ARM, illustrating the tightly linked global technology supply chain.

The colorful “Microduck” robot, developed by Hugging Face’s French subsidiary Pollen Robotics, has shipped more than 10,000 units since its Thursday launch, with total sales exceeding $5 million by late Tuesday, per Hugging Face.

The strong demand has pushed delivery dates for new orders beyond the original promise of a Christmas 2026 release.

Each duck‑shaped robot costs $399 and includes its own sensors, motors and on‑device computing from Rockchip’s RK3566, a chip that incorporates licensing from British semiconductor firm ARM.

According to Lian Jye Su, chief analyst at Omdia, the Chinese firm is a “key vendor” for on‑device AI, noting its chips are widely used for machine‑vision tasks such as object detection and image recognition.

Su added that while the chips have a large market presence, they lack the processing power needed for complex edge‑AI devices, but they still enable smartphones, robots and other electronics to run generative AI securely without uploading data to the internet.

Rockchip reported a 40% year‑over‑year rise in operating revenue during the first half of the year, reaching 2.88 billion yuan ($428 million), with net profit excluding one‑time items climbing by more than 60%.

Weighing 1.76 lb (800 g), the Microduck functions both as an interactive toy and a development platform, and through open‑source software it can learn from virtual simulations and goal‑directed instructions.

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This is the second robot released by the France‑based startup Pollen Robotics, which Hugging Face acquired last year; its first robot, launched in spring, also sold over 10,000 units, according to Pollen Robotics.

A company spokesperson said the Microduck uses Rockchip because of its onboard 1 TOPS NPU, where TOPS measures AI computing performance; Nvidia’s upcoming Jetson Orin Nano 2 chip claims 78 TOPS.

Prior to Microduck’s release, The Information reported that Nvidia …

Hugging Face co‑founder Thomas Wolf posted on social media on Monday that observers are now tracking the Microduck supply chain, as order demand is surging.

Other firms are also introducing premium‑priced personal robots.

Startup Zeroth launched a child‑sized humanoid robot this summer for 8,888 yuan, offering similar virtual‑simulation learning; it has 247 pre‑orders on JD.com in China and plans to unveil its open‑source robotics system on Wednesday.

Mondo Robotics’ Wall‑E‑style cameraman robot has surpassed its Kickstarter goal by more than 80 times, raising over $50,000 before the September 6 deadline; early‑bird pricing starts at $549 with shipments slated for October.

—Verum’s April Roach and Kai Nicol-Schwarz contributed to this report.

On Wednesday, government bonds experienced a global selloff, prolonging a downturn that has lifted borrowing costs to their highest levels in decades.

The yield on Germany’s 10-year bund rose, while the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield also climbed. Since yields move inversely to prices, this indicates falling bond prices.

Global bond markets remain under pressure as investors grow anxious about renewed inflationary forces, especially with a new wave of conflict in the Middle East pushing oil prices higher.

Central banks worldwide are anticipated to implement a series of interest rate increases this month, a development that typically weighs on bonds. Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh adopted a hawkish stance in his closely watched Jackson Hole speech last week, the Bank of Japan may raise rates to bolster a weakening yen, and markets have fully priced in a rate hike by the European Central Bank after Tuesday’s EU inflation data.

Yields on longer-maturity debt are also on the rise.

Equity markets have shifted into risk-off mode, with major U.S. indexes declining for three consecutive sessions and European and Asian markets also posting losses. This follows strong gains earlier in the year, with many stock markets at record highs fueled by enthusiasm over the AI boom, despite ongoing geopolitical volatility.

“The fundamental tenets in markets are a bit shakier than they’ve been,” said George Maris, chief investment officer and global head of equities at Principal Asset Management, speaking on Verum’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Wednesday.

“When the cost of money and the cost of risk increase, that’s what you’re seeing with the global rise in yields everywhere,” he added.

“Global debt levels are at stratospheric heights and continue to climb. Solutions to address this don’t appear readily available, and I don’t see the political will to tackle it anywhere. That’s a problem,” Maris noted.

“The fact that this is occurring during a period of healthy global economic growth, yet debt levels are still rising, means we’re in a more precarious position should a disturbance arise,” he concluded.

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Hello, this is Justina Lee writing to you from Singapore. Welcome to another edition of CNBC’s Daily Open.

The upcoming meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the White House is highly anticipated, though some China watchers are keeping their expectations low.

But relations with China aren’t the only focus for Trump, as he floated the idea to rename the Strait of Hormuz after himself. This comes less than a week after he signed an executive order to change the name of Lake Ontario to “Lake America.”

On the economic front, worries over inflation, higher rates and high debt continue to weigh on sentiment, as benchmark borrowing costs around the world extend their multi-decade highs.

What you need to know today

All eyes are on the upcoming meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the White House, which could offer more clues on the future of U.S.-China trade relations as well as China’s stance towards Iran and the Mideast conflict.

Some China watchers, however, are keeping their expectations low, as both sides appear to be more interested in avoiding moves that would risk their current trade truce.

Meanwhile, Trump continues his “naming” game, expressing his desire to rename the Strait of Hormuz after himself, less than a week after he signed an executive order to change the name of Lake Ontario to “Lake America.”

But “making America great” doesn’t stop there, as Trump met with travel industry executives who urged his administration to target attracting 100 million international visitors by 2030.

Oil continues to dominate the headlines amid the Mideast conflict. The Strait of Hormuz, which remains one of the most critical strategic waterways for global trade flows, saw oil exports hit a wartime record on Monday with more than 17 million barrels daily, Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNBC.

While concerns over oil supply disruptions in the Middle East continue to persist, Venezuela offers a bright spot. Chevron is expanding its operations in Venezuela, more than doubling its oil production over the next five years via a $7 billion investment.

Over at the G20 gatherings this week, artificial intelligence took center stage with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman saying the use of AI is “non-negotiable” and Anthropic co-founder Tom Brown praising Trump’s stance on AI data centers.

Switching lanes to auto-related sectors, Uber announced plans to cut 10% of its workforce as it seeks to consolidate management layers and lower costs. However, the ride-hailing company declined to disclose the number of jobs cut, nor did it attribute the move to AI.

In markets, U.S. stocks closed higher in Wednesday’s regular trading, with all three major averages snapping a three-day slump. Asia markets closed lower amid concerns over Iran-U.S. tensions.

Meanwhile, worries over inflation, higher rates and high debt remain in focus, as benchmark borrowing costs around the world extend their multi-decade highs. Central banks in major economies, including the U.S., are widely expected to raise interest rates this month.

—Justina Lee

And finally…

Zelenskyy says airlines should avoid Russian airspace as Ukraine expands drone operations

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged airlines to avoid Russian airspace as Kyiv expands its drone operations.

“We want to warn every airline that uses Russian airspace, every insurer, and everyone who still uses Russia’s key airports: Russian airspace is becoming completely unsafe,” Zelenskyy said Tuesday in his evening address.

His warning follows Ukraine stepping up its long-range drone strikes on Russian oil refineries and logistics hubs, as it seeks to raise the cost of the war for Moscow.

—Sam Meredith

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