HaaS 100 (late June 2025)

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 March, early and late April, early and late May, and early June.

Automated Architecture (AUAR)

• Founded date: 2019
• Location: London, England
• Employees: ~20
• What they do: Robotic micro-factories for automated timber home construction
• Key partners: Rival Holdings, Vandenbussche NV, Revive
• Website: auar.io

AUAR (Automated Architecture) is reimagining the way homes are built by combining robotics, AI, and thoughtful design to create a scalable, sustainable construction ecosystem. At the core of its offering are Robotic Micro-Factories: compact, containerized units equipped with robots that produce modular timber-frame panels for walls, floors, and roofs. These pop-up factories can build the shell of a timber home in under 12 hours, with an annual capacity of up to 180 homes per factory. The system is powered by AUAR’s proprietary software, which automates thousands of traditionally manual tasks—from design generation to manufacturing code—streamlining production while enabling design flexibility. Rather than retrofitting robotics to outdated construction methods, AUAR has rethought the building process from the ground up, treating each panel like a “bit” of code to simplify and optimize for automation.

The company offers a flexible, no-capex hardware-as-a-service model that lowers the barrier to entry for builders, developers, and manufacturers. Partners pay an upfront cost (starting around $312,000) plus a software licensing fee, and gain access to a fully equipped Micro-Factory and remote support through AUAR’s AI-powered platform. This “design-as-a-dervice” model also enables instant cost estimation, regulatory alignment, and custom design variation at scale. AUAR’s approach drastically reduces onsite labor, minimizes waste, and cuts material transport costs by up to 80%. It’s a modern twist on the hardware-as-a-service (HaaS) model—bringing the ethos of SaaS to physical construction workflows.

“We didn’t just build robots and ask them to fit into the old way of doing things,” says AUAR CEO Mollie Claypool. “We restructured the very logic of homebuilding so it could be automated. It’s not about repeating the past faster—it’s about inventing a new grammar for how we build homes, one that’s accessible, low-risk, and designed for a more equitable future.”

Nala Robotics

• Founded date: 2017
• Location: Arlington Heights, Illinois
• Employees: ~130
• What they do: AI-driven culinary robots
• Key customers: Slice Factory, Re-Up
• Website: nalarobotics.com

Nala Robotics builds robots for autonomous, AI-enabled kitchens. Its robots are equipped with advanced sensors, machine learning (ML) algorithms, and precision cooking mechanisms that allow them to prepare an extensive range of menu items. The robots in Nala’s portfolio include a robotic fryer called The Wingman that can bread, fry, toss, sauce, and season items like chicken wings and french fries; the Nala Chef, a customizable robot that uses ML to replicate and cook infinite recipes customized to each customer’s preferences; and The Spotless, a fully-automated robotic dishwasher that performs everything from scrubbing to storage. Nala also builds robots that can assemble pizzas, food bowls, and sandwiches—along with BIRYANIMAN, the world’s first robotic biryani chef, capable of cooking up to 100 varieties of biryani with exact consistency.

The company offers its hardware through a number of business models: direct sales, rental, lease, and robotics-as-a-service. Rental options start at $2,999/month for The Wingman and $2,995/month for The Spotless; monthly leasing options for Pizzaiola start at $7,000/month. Under Nala’s RaaS model, on the other hand, customers have full access to Nala’s infrastructure and pay by the dish rather than a flat monthly rate.

3DEO

• Founded date: 2016
• Location: Torrance, California
• Employees: ~40
• What they do: Additive manufacturing services
• Customers: OEMs in the aerospace, medical, industrial, automotive, and consumer products industries
• Website: 3deo.co

3DEO delivers additive manufacturing (AM) services utilizing its proprietary metal 3D printing technology. The company specializes in small, complex components made of stainless steels or copper, and leverages a patented Intelligent Layering process, which merges 3D printing with CNC milling for an automated, high-precision approach capable of achieving the speed and scalability often lacking in traditional metal AM. Its digital end-to-end platform, the Manufacturing Cloud, manages the entire process, from design to prototype to finished product. 3DEO also offers early-stage design consultation and engineering services to better support its customers throughout the entire product lifecycle.

Rather than selling its printers outright, 3DEO provides end-to-end printing services as part of a 3D printing-as-a-service (3DPaaS) model. The model repositions 3D printer OEMs as vertically-integrated platforms, shifting their role from equipment vendors to full-service manufacturers. 3DEO keeps its printers in-house and monetizes through service offerings. This approach provides customers with the benefits of design flexibility and on-demand production while eliminating the need for significant capital investments—not to mention the challenges of implementing and training staff on an in-house 3D printing system.

DeLaval

• Founded date: 1878
• Location: Kansas City, Missouri (global HQ in Tumba, Sweden)
• Employees: ~3,200
• What they do: Automated milking and dairy farm management solutions
• Key customers: Tuxedo Farm, Drumgoon Dairy
• Website: delaval.com/en-us

DeLaval develops integrated dairy solutions designed to improve milk production efficiency, animal welfare, and farm management. The company offers a range of automated milking systems, cooling solutions, and herd management tools, including its VMS series milking robots and DelPro farm management software. These technologies incorporate artificial intelligence, sensor-based monitoring, and predictive analytics to help farmers optimize herd health, milk quality, and operational efficiency. DeLaval Plus, for example, leverages AI-driven behavior analysis to monitor cow health, reproduction cycles, and productivity, while DeLaval RePro automatically analyzes progesterone levels in milk samples to assist with breeding decisions. By integrating automation and data-driven insights, DeLaval enables more sustainable, precise, and labor-efficient dairy operations.

While DeLaval primarily sells its equipment outright, it also offers elements of a hybrid “as-a-service” model through its InService All-Inclusive program. This service provides preventive maintenance, scheduled servicing, and consumables replenishment for an agreed-upon cost, ensuring that farms maintain optimal performance without unexpected expenses. DeLaval Plus extends this model by offering data-driven insights through a subscription-based platform, allowing farmers to leverage AI-powered analytics to improve herd management. The company collaborates with financial partners like BMO and DFA Financing to provide flexible payment plans; these options give dairy farmers greater financial predictability and operational stability, aligning costs with production needs.

Fernride

• Founded date: 2019
• Location: Munich, Germany
• Employees: ~150
• What they do: Autonomous trucking systems for container yards and ports
• Key customers: Volkswagen, DB Schenker, HHLA
• Website: fernride.com

Fernride manufactures an autonomous vehicle kit that retrofits yard trucks with sensors, lidar, cameras, and software to autonomously move trailers and containers around ports, terminals, and distribution facilities. Equipped with Level 4 autonomy, the trucks can be overseen by a single remote operator who manages up to four vehicles at once, intervening when complex maneuvers or unplanned edge cases arise. Fernride’s trucks are also electric, which means they reduce environmental impact as they increase productivity and improve worker safety.

The company offers its solution as part of a comprehensive transportation-as-a-service package: For a fixed recurring fee, customers have access to Fernride’s hardware kit and software subscription, through which the company can push updates to the hardware. (Software includes the Operations Control Center, which enables operators to oversee and assist vehicles, and a Management Suite for comprehensive fleet management.) Fernride’s end-to-end solution currently includes remote drivers, which Fernride employs. Over time, the company will train its customers to become remote operators, enabling them to manage their own fleet of Fernride trucks.