HaaS 100 (early January 2024)

Hardware-as-a-service (HaaS) is gaining momentum across a variety of industries. Many of the early adopters of HaaS are in robotics, offering robots-as-a-service (RaaS) to decrease barriers to entry and improve overall value to customers. Others offer machine-as-a-service (MaaS), device-as-a-service (DaaS), or equipment-as-a-service (EaaS).

Some companies pitch outcomes more than assets, offering data-as-a-service or platform-as-a-service models. From network-as-a-service to facades cleaning; managed service providers (MSPs) to managed security service providers (MSSPs); and autonomous construction equipment to diagnostic sensors and 3D printers, these companies are on the cutting-edge of their fields.

This post is part of a series about modern hardware companies, their business models, and the future of HaaS. For more, see posts from early and late September, early and late October, early and late November, and early and late December.

Formic

• Founded date: 2020
• Location: Chicago, Illinois
• Employees: ~60
• What they do: Robotic automation solutions for manufacturers
• Key customers: Mi Rancho, Cameron’s Coffee, Georgia Nut Company, Compact Industries, Polysciences 
• Website: formic.co

Formic develops robotic automation solutions for the manufacturing industry. The company’s palletizer fleet includes unfenced and fenced collaborative palletizers, a compact and standard industrial palletizer, and custom palletizer options. Formic also has a series of case packing and erecting options that improve the throughput, quality, and safety of manufacturers’ end-of-line packing and erecting operations. The company’s software suite includes Formic Core, an equipment-agnostic operating system that uses AI to configure a robot to perform any task in any location; Formic FAST, which uses lidar scans to evaluate a customer’s site and identify the proper robotic system for the business’ production requirements; and Formic Colony 2.0, command center software for fleet monitoring, management, and maintenance.

Formic’s unique robotics-as-a-service (RaaS) model enables all American manufacturers to reap the positive outcomes of robotic automation without the traditional barriers to entry: CapEx, human capital, and the maintenance required to keep the solution running. Formic’s product is accessible robot productivity without the complexity. The company’s monthly and annual contracts include a fixed rate with unlimited equipment usage, 24/7 technical support, 100% preventative and protective maintenance coverage, contracted performance rates, team training, and lead times of 10 weeks or less. 

“Historically, advanced automation has been elusive for all but the largest manufacturers,” says co-founder and CEO Saman Farid. “But with Formic’s pricing model, customers pay nothing until the system is on their floor and producing, so they achieve positive ROI on day one. We take on—and remove—the risk, and they’re guaranteed performance. No surprise costs, and no being locked into a contract. It’s a model that benefits everyone.”

Voliro

• Founded date: 2019
• Location: Zürich, Switzerland
• Employees: ~35
• What they do: Aerial robots for inspection and maintenance
• Key customers: Chevron, Petronas, MISTRAS, Bilfinger
• Website: voliro.com

Voliro’s Voliro T is a drone for non-destructive testing (NDT), an activity that has traditionally required personnel to access challenging or dangerous locations using ropes or scaffolding to perform inspection and maintenance. The drone has a payload system and an open platform that supports the seamless integration of a variety of tools, such as the high-temperature Ultrasonic Testing (UT) payload for use on boilers, flare stacks, and chimneys. With the UT payload, operators can perform inspections on surfaces with temperatures as high as 260°C without shutting down operations and waiting for equipment to cool. The Pulsed Eddy Current (PEC) system enables the drone to identify hidden corrosion under insulation and metal coatings using electromagnetic pulses. Voliro T’s 360° design allows for inspection of curved and sloped surfaces.

Voliro T isn’t just a drone; it’s a comprehensive platform that the company offers in a pure subscription robots-as-a-service (RaaS) model. The fixed annual subscription fee includes the drone, payloads, training, crash insurance, and software and hardware updates.

“Voliro T is a first-generation product,” explains CEO Florian Gutzwiller. “Our RaaS model enables us to deliver frequent updates to our customers, ensuring they always have access to the latest hardware and software. Both are upgraded regularly, and we want to ensure our customers benefit from these advancements immediately. The approach to asset inspection at height had to evolve, and Voliro’s solution and pricing structure support that transformation.”

Gatik

• Founded date: 2017
• Location: Mountain View, California
• Employees: ~150
• What they do: Autonomous commercial trucking for middle-mile logistics
• Key customers: Kroger, Walmart, Pitney Bowes, Tyson, Georgia-Pacific, Loblaws
• Website: gatik.ai

Gatik designs autonomous driving systems and outfits trucks with self-driving technology for short- to medium-haul B2B logistics. The company’s proprietary Level 4 autonomous technology, Gatik Carrier, powers the trucks, which transport goods between distribution centers, fulfillment hubs, and retail locations along the middle mile. Trucks are equipped with redundant safety features across braking, steering, and compute systems. Routes are designed on city streets with speed limits below 50 mph, and intentionally avoid schools, fire stations, and dangerous intersections. Once the trucks arrive at Gatik hubs,  human drivers step in to complete the final leg of the delivery.

The company’s business model is autonomous-transportation-as-a-service (ATaaS). Customers sign five-year contracts, allowing Gatik to lease trucks from partners like Ryder and outfit them with the sensors, cameras, lidar, and computing systems that operate the vehicle. (Gatik is currently partnering with Isuzu to design and produce the trucks themselves.) A fixed-fee subscription includes the trucks and accompanying software, real-time data insights, and maintenance, which is performed by the OEM. A portion of customers’ subscription fees covers the truck lease, enabling Gatik to maintain an operationally- and asset-light model for the time being.

AeroVect

• Founded date: 2020
• Location: San Francisco, California
• Employees: ~30
• What they do: Autonomous driving systems for the ground support equipment (GSE) industry
• Key customers: pilot projects with GAT Airline Ground Support, dnata, Delta Air Lines
• Website: aerovect.com

AeroVect manufactures the AeroVect Driver, a platform-agnostic solution that can be applied to any OEM’s baggage and cargo tractors to enable autonomous operations. Its customers are in the ground support equipment (GSE) industry; vehicles equipped with AeroVect’s technology can perform day-to-day cargo operations, including transferring cargo from warehouses to airport terminals. Outfitted with lidar sensors and 360° cameras, AeroVect Driver can detect and classify aircraft, recognize airport-specific runway markings, and navigate taxiway crossings with precision. The company’s mapping kit, the AeroVect Explorer, first builds a digital twin of the airport. Once mapped, the AeroVect Driver is ready to operate autonomously, without the need for human training.

The company offers its end-to-end solution under a robotics-as-a-service (RaaS) business model. AeroVect Driver units are available through a subscription model, where customers pay for access to both the Driver and the software rather than purchasing the hardware outright. Recurring costs are determined by factors such as airport and operation. As customers use the solution, AeroVect continuously expands its proprietary dataset of airport driving data, enabling the Driver to handle an increasingly wide range of scenarios.

Saga Robotics

• Founded date: 2016
• Location: Santa Maria, California (HQ in Oslo, Norway) 
• Employees: ~50
• What they do: Agricultural robots to replace fungicides
• Key customers: Vineyards in the US and strawberry growers in the UK (e.g., Clock House Farm)
• Website: sagarobotics.com

Saga Robotics’ flagship robot, Thorvald, is an autonomous robot that treats fungal diseases such as powdery mildew without the need for fungicides in vineyards and strawberry farms. This treatment is done through the application of intense UV-C light, with which customers can reduce fungicide use. Thorvald is also equipped with cameras that keep track of yield and ripening levels, and help farmers collect data for disease management. Tools are under development to let Thorvold perform a wider range of labor-intensive tasks such as harvesting, spraying, and distribution of predatory mites.

The company doesn’t directly sell Thorvald to farms, but rather offers its solution through a farming-as-a-service (FaaS) model. This limits farmers’ up-front capital investment for Thorvald. The complete service package includes the robots, field-mapping, treatment deployment, and maintenance. Because Saga Robotics continues to own and maintain the equipment, FaaS is a low-risk business model for farmers, based on a fixed recurring price.