New Zealand's Onside buys Assura, doubling its user base to 60,000
What's the deal? Christchurch software firm OnsideDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → is acquiring fellow New Zealand technology company AssuraDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → for an undisclosed sum, the companies announced in September 2026. The deal will take the combined business to more than 60,000 users across six countries.
What each side does: Onside, founded in 2015, makes software covering biosecurity, health and safety, contractor management, and quality assurance, and says its technology is used on 25,000 properties. Assura develops software for health and safety, compliance, contractor management, irrigation, and other business processes.
Why now? Eleven years after starting with a problem on 13 Canterbury dairy farms — tracking workers and contractors through the farm gate — Onside is pushing further overseas. The acquisition spans New Zealand, Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
What's the endgame? Chief executive and co-founder Ryan Higgs said the deal lets customers run more of their operations through one system. "Agribusinesses shouldn't need five different systems to know what's happening across their own operations," he said.
By the numbers: Onside said its annual recurring revenue rose 114% over the past 12 months, though it has not disclosed the dollar value. The company employs about 60 people in Christchurch and Melbourne, and counts meat exporter ANZCO FoodsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → among its customers.
The money trail: Onside is also starting a fresh capital raise to fund expansion and investment in staff and technology. It last raised $2.5 million in 2020 — above its $1.5 million target — from investors including K1W1Dealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, NZ Growth Capital PartnersDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and Icehouse VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, when it had about 20,000 registered users.
Key hire: Assura chief executive Hamish Howard will join Onside's leadership team after the deal closes.
The signal: Agritech buyers are consolidating fragmented compliance and safety tools into single platforms, betting that farms and food exporters want fewer systems to manage. Onside's move — pairing an acquisition with a capital raise — shows how mid-sized software firms are scaling across borders through deals rather than product alone.
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
