Alot of vendors (Lenovo[0], ASUS, Dell, ) are using Windows Platform Binary Table, WPBT (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18095848) to get the OS to execute binary. Dell seem to use it to load the Absolute's Lojack anti theft rootkit[1]. Also on Absolute's website there's a list[2] of manufacturers that are using Absolute Persistance[3].

[0]: https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2015/08/lenov...

[1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19800807

[2]: https://www.absolute.com/partners/device-compatibility/

[3]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absolute_Home_%26_Office#Absol...