Not for sale yet · No deposits · No pre-orders

An AI server for your office that stays in your office.

Puck is a small box that plugs into your network and runs AI assistants for a team of about six people. The work happens on the box, so there are no per-question fees, and it can't reach the internet unless you allow it.

This page says exactly what works today and what doesn't. It changes as we test.

See what's working Get updates

Users per Puck: About 6
Per-question fees: None
Outbound traffic: Blocked by default
Price and date: Not set yet

Concept model Ø 6.25 in
1.75 in tall

This is a design study, not the final product. The ports follow the board we're evaluating: two network ports and a power jack on the back, two USB-C on the front. The plan for the version you'd buy is one Ethernet port that also carries power.

How it works

One box for the whole team.

Most AI boxes announced this year are built for one person. Puck is built for a small office: a few people sharing one machine that sits on a shelf next to the router.

Plugs into your network

You reach it from any computer in the office at https://puck01. Nothing to install on each machine. The chat screen itself is still being built.

Separate accounts

Up to six people each get their own account. One person's files and conversations stay out of everyone else's.

No meter running

The AI runs on the box's own processor. You aren't billed per question, so a busy week costs the same as a quiet one, apart from electricity.

Asks before it acts

Anything you mark as needing a person waits for a yes on your phone. The assistant can't approve its own work.

Already running in the lab

Five jobs Puck does today

These run on our test setup now. They're the kind of small, steady work a busy office forgets until something breaks.

Around the clock
Website watchdogChecks that your site is up and tells you when it isn't.
Ahead of time
Certificate and domain expiryWarns you before a security certificate or a domain name runs out.
On a schedule
WordPress security checkLooks over a WordPress site for out-of-date plugins and common problems.
7:00 am
Morning briefA short summary waiting for you when the day starts.
Weekdays
Hours reminderA weekday reminder on the schedule you set.

Privacy

It can't talk to the internet unless you let it.

On October 26, Cohere reported that one of Alibaba's open Qwen models, given a command line during a security test, tried to upload a file to a cloud server in Beijing. The test was sealed off, so nothing actually left. Other researchers couldn't reproduce it, and nobody has shown it was deliberate. Cohere also sells competing models, which is worth knowing.

The useful lesson isn't about one country or one model. An AI that's allowed to run commands can try to reach the internet in ways nobody asked for, and what it says it's doing doesn't always match what it does. Puck is built on the assumption that this will happen sometimes, with any model.

Source: The Register, October 26, 2026

Blocked by default, underneath the AIThe firewall is part of the operating system, not a setting the AI can change. Nothing goes out unless a rule allows it.
Tools go through a gatekeeperWhen an assistant needs to check a website or send a notice, a separate program checks the actual request against a short list of allowed destinations. It goes by what the request does, not by the AI's explanation of it.
A log you can read Being testedA plain list of every address the AI tried to reach, and whether it was allowed.
Cloud help only when you allow itSome jobs are too hard for a small local model. Puck can queue those for a large cloud model, with passwords and keys scrubbed out first, so you can see what would leave before it does.
Your keys stay on the boxPasswords and keys live in an encrypted vault locked to the security chip inside that one Puck.

puck01 · outbound logillustration

09:14:02	allowed	yourshop.com	site watchdog
09:14:09	allowed	yourshop.com:443	certificate check
09:31:47	blocked	files.unknown-storage.net	no rule
09:31:47	blocked	203.0.113.88:8443	no rule
10:02:15	waiting	cloud model	needs your approval
10:04:51	allowed	cloud model	approved by Dana, 2 keys scrubbed

A mock-up of how the log is meant to read. These lines are made up to show the format, not a real capture.

Status

Where things stand.

Everything under Working now runs in our lab on a virtual Puck. None of it has run on the real board yet, because we don't have the real board yet.

Last updated October 28, 2026

Working now

In the lab, on virtual hardware.

Locked-down operating systemBuilt on Debian. Updates install to a second copy, and it rolls back on its own if one goes wrong.
Signed automatic updates
Outbound firewall, closed by default
Encrypted vault tied to the security chip
Secure remote access from outside the office
Up to six users, each in their own account
Approvals on your phone
Optional cloud help, with secrets scrubbed first
The five jobs listed above
Local name and HTTPSpuck01 on your network, with a real security certificate.
USB installer and a hardware self-check

Being tested

Might work. Might not. We'll say which.

The local AI setupA small model tuned for this kind of work, with add-on knowledge for specific kinds of business. We're testing whether it's good enough. If it isn't, the design changes and this page will say so.
The readable outbound log

Not done yet

Either started and unfinished, or not started.

The chat screen in your browser
Passkey sign-in (no passwords)
Running on the real boardWe've asked for a quote on the first one.
Final enclosure
Speed and capacity numbers
Safety and radio certification
Price
Ship date

Plain limits

What Puck won't do.

Match the biggest cloud AI at everything

A small local model is good at focused, repeated work. For hard, open-ended questions you'll want the optional cloud help, or a cloud service.

Get everything right

Local models make mistakes. That's why anything that matters waits for a person to approve it.

Take your money yet

No deposits, no pre-orders, no reservation fees. When there's a real product with a real date, it will say so here.

Come with made-up numbers

We'll publish speed and capacity after we've measured them on the real board, not before.

Hardware

The hardware, so far.

The first Puck is built around an industrial board from ASRock, the kind made to run around the clock in a back room.

Why only one port? Fewer ports means fewer ways to set it up wrong. One cable carries both network and power, and everything else happens in a browser at https://puck01.

We're aiming for a box with no fan. Testing on the real board will decide whether that holds.

Board: ASRock Industrial 4X4-AI350 (in evaluation)
Processor: AMD Ryzen AI 7 350
Memory: 64 GB planned (the board takes up to 96 GB)
Ports: One Ethernet port (plan)
Power: Over the same Ethernet cable (plan), with an optional separate power input
Security chip: Built-in TPM, used to lock the vault to this box
Size: 6.25 in across, 1.75 in tall (concept)
Finish: Plastic or aluminum, not decided

Also exploring

A Puck for one person, set up for one kind of business.

Same box, tuned for a single trade. It's on the list, after the office version works.

Several Pucks working as one.

For offices bigger than six: two or more Pucks on the same network sharing the work. Not built or tested yet.

Who's building it

Kevin Rodenhofer, OuterData

OuterData has built software for small businesses since 2008, including point-of-sale and kitchen display systems running in working restaurants.

Puck comes from the same work: tools for small businesses that have to keep running without an IT department, and without handing your data to someone else.

Get updates

We'll write when something real changes.

The board arrives. The chat screen works. We have real speed numbers. There's a price. That's it.

You'll get one email asking you to confirm. After that, only updates when something real changes. Every email has an unsubscribe link, we don't share your address, and there's nothing to buy.

Questions

Straight answers.

Can I buy one?

No. Puck is in early development. There's no price, no ship date, and no way to pay for one, on purpose.

What will it cost?

We don't know yet. The goal is a box a small office buys once, with no per-question fees. We'll publish the price when we know it.

Does it need the internet?

Everyday use on your own network is designed to keep working if your internet goes down. Updates, remote access, and the optional cloud help need a connection.

Which AI models does it run?

We'll name them once testing is done. Whatever we use runs behind the same outbound firewall described above.

Why six people?

It's the size of team we're designing for: a small office sharing one box. We'll confirm how many people one Puck really handles once we've measured it on the real board.

What if we have more than six people?

One Puck is designed for about six. We're exploring letting two or more Pucks on the same network work together as one. That isn't built or tested yet, so we're not promising it.

Can I use it at home?

Yes, nothing stops you, and six accounts works for a household. We're designing for small offices first, so the jobs it does today are office jobs.

Is the box in the picture real?

It's a 3D design study. The size and shape are what we're aiming for. The final case, ports, and finish aren't decided.