HaaS 100 (late October 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 July, early and late August, early and late September, and early October.

Pudu Robotics

• Founded date: 2016
• Location: Santa Clara, California (global HQ: Shenzhen, China)
• Employees: ~190
• What they do: Autonomous delivery and cleaning robots for commercial environments
• Customers: Restaurants, hotels, hospitals, office buildings, malls, and airports across 60+ countries
• Website: pudurobotics.com

Pudu Robotics develops intelligent service robots that streamline delivery and cleaning tasks in high-traffic commercial environments. Their product line includes delivery robots like BellaBot, SwiftBot, and PuduBot 2, which autonomously navigate crowded spaces to transport food, goods, or documents. For cleaning, models like CC1 and the new MT1 offer four-in-one sweeping, scrubbing, vacuuming, and mopping functionality for facilities management. All robots run on Pudu’s proprietary navigation and obstacle avoidance systems and integrate with the PUDU Open Platform, an API-rich developer toolkit for custom workflows and smart building connectivity.

Pudu uses a hybrid hardware + subscription model. Customers typically purchase robots upfront, with prices ranging from ~$16,000 to $24,000 depending on functionality. Ongoing capabilities—such as software updates, remote fleet management, AI optimization, and support—are accessed through required service plans. These subscriptions are billed monthly or quarterly and ensure continued performance, security updates, and centralized management. Leasing and financing options are also available via partners, offering flexibility for customers scaling across multiple locations or sites.

“We’ve designed our model around how service environments actually operate,” says Keith Garratt, the company’s U.S. Business Development Director. “Our customers want the confidence of owning their fleet, but they also need a partner who ensures that technology keeps improving over time. That’s what our platform—and our pricing—are built to deliver.”

SoEnergy

• Founded date: 1998
• Location: Miami, Florida
• Employees: ~540
• What they do: Tailored energy solutions for scalable power generation
• Customers: Operators in the mining, oil & gas, utilities, and manufacturing industries
• Website: soenergy.com

SoEnergy is a global provider of tailored energy solutions, supporting clients across various industries, including mining, oil & gas, utilities, and manufacturing. The company’s comprehensive services encompass power generation, temperature control, and water treatment, ensuring reliable and efficient energy supply. To meet specific client needs, SoEnergy deploys hardware such as generators, turbines, and specialized machinery, facilitating both temporary and permanent multi-megawatt power plants. By leveraging hybrid and renewable energy solutions, the company helps businesses reduce costs, lower carbon emissions, and comply with evolving environmental regulations.

Operating under an energy-as-a-service (EaaS) model, SoEnergy provides clients with dependable energy solutions without requiring upfront capital expenditures. This pay-for-use approach allows businesses to access critical power infrastructure without long-term financial commitments, ensuring flexibility as their energy needs evolve. Contracts cover all aspects of energy provision, including system design, installation, operation, maintenance, and 24/7 support, so clients can focus on their core operations without worrying about energy reliability. Additionally, SoEnergy’s solutions are fully scalable, enabling customers to quickly increase or decrease power capacity based on operational demands. At the end of a temporary contract, payments cease without any additional residual value.

Mujin

• Founded date: 2021
• Location: Suwanee, Georgia (with headquarters in Tokyo, Japan)
• Employees: ~75
• What they do: Software and robotics for manufacturing and logistics
• Key customers: ASKUL Corporation, LOGISTEED, PALTAC Corporation
• Website: mujin-corp.com

Mujin’s flagship product, the MujinController, transforms industrial robots into intelligent, autonomous systems capable of adapting to real-world environments without manual intervention. The platform combines advanced perception, motion planning, and control algorithms to manage robots from any manufacturer, unifying autonomous operations for a wide range of applications and complex scenarios in manufacturing and logistics. MujinController powers the company’s own robotic fleet, which includes QuickBot, a plug-and-play robotic case handler for mixed palletizing, depalletizing, and repalletizing, and TruckBot, an autonomous solution for unloading trailers and shipping containers. Truckbot can reach up to 52 feet, handle boxes weighing up to 50 pounds, and unload up to 1,500 cases per hour, including mixed-SKU loads. The robots rely on cameras, sensors, and advanced 3D vision to ensure accuracy and collect data.

Mujin offers its hardware as part of a full-stack solution, including design and production, software, integration, and 24/7 support. The company’s business model is robots-as-a-service (RaaS), allowing it to provide customers with instant access to automation without the traditional high capital outlay required for purchasing equipment. With this pricing model, QuickBot can be utilized for pallet unloading at under $20/hour, ensuring customers pay only for actual usage.

Shepherd Safety Systems

• Founded date: 2013
• Location: Midland, Texas
• Employees: ~45
• What they do: Real-time gas detection and emissions monitoring for industrial safety
• Customers: Oil & gas, industrial, waste management, and renewables companies
• Website: shepherdgas.com

Shepherd Safety Systems provides advanced methane and hazardous gas detection solutions to enhance safety and environmental compliance across the oil and gas, industrial, landfill, and renewable energy sectors. The company’s continuous monitoring technology includes high-precision sensors placed directly at leak sources inside facility fence lines for real-time, component-level emissions data. Shepherd’s wearable personal monitors further protect workers in hazardous environments by detecting toxic gases like hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide. The technology seamlessly integrates into clients’ SCADA systems through redundant communication channels, including cellular, satellite, and Wi-Fi, ensuring uninterrupted monitoring and rapid response. With a focus on field-ready deployment, Shepherd combines hardware innovation, AI-powered data analytics, and real-time connectivity to provide operators with actionable insights for safer and more efficient operations.

The company operates on a hardware-as-a-service (HaaS) model, offering its monitoring solutions through rental and subscription-based services rather than outright sales. This model allows operators to access cutting-edge gas detection technology without large upfront capital expenditures. By bundling hardware, software, and services into a single solution, Shepherd enables companies to quickly deploy emissions monitoring, establish baselines, and comply with regulatory standards without the complexity of managing the technology in-house. The pricing structure provides flexibility, ensuring that both large-scale enterprises and smaller operators can integrate advanced safety solutions at a cost-effective rate.

Cropify

• Founded date: 2019
• Location: Adelaide, South Australia
• Employees: ~10
• What they do: AI-powered visual grain grading for faster, more objective crop quality assessment
• Key customers: Wimpak at Minyip, Shannon Brothers, PB Seeds in Horsham (trials)
• Website: cropify.io

Cropify is an Australian agtech startup that uses AI-powered computer vision to revolutionize grain grading by eliminating the subjectivity and inconsistency of traditional methods. The company’s hardware and software solution analyzes pulse crop samples—such as lentils and chickpeas—in real time, recognizing defects, contaminants, and foreign material with high precision. Designed with an intuitive interface and industry-informed workflow, Cropify’s platform significantly reduces time at the sample stand, cuts CO2 emissions from idling trucks, and removes the need for single-use plastic bags. With each 200g sample analyzed in under seven minutes (compared to 20+ minutes manually), Cropify aims to bring objectivity, repeatability, and speed to the grain testing process.

The company offers its solution through a hardware-as-a-service model, where customers lease the AI-enabled grading unit and pay for access to a suite of crop-specific testing modules. This flexible approach reduces upfront capital costs and allows growers, traders, and grain handlers to quickly adopt the system without needing deep technical expertise. Ongoing software updates, remote support, and the ability to scale across new crop types are included in the subscription. Cropify has positioned its pricing to be accessible to both corporate farms and end users, and expects to take its first commercial orders following its May trials.