Technology

Xero

Xero is the cloud accounting platform Rod Drury built from Wellington, now used by millions of small businesses across the world.

Xero
Founded:
2006
Location:
Wellington, New Zealand
Website:
xero.com
Listed:
NZX and ASX
Subscribers:
4 million+
What they do:
Cloud accounting for small businesses
Last updated 3 June 2026

Xero is a cloud-based accounting software company founded by Rod Drury in Wellington in 2006. It was one of the first companies to move small-business accounting entirely to the cloud, and it now serves over 4 million subscribers across New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Xero listed on the NZX in 2007 and later dual-listed on the ASX, growing into one of Australasia's largest technology companies by market capitalisation. Drury stepped down as CEO in 2018.

Why Noteworthy

Xero is the most significant software company New Zealand has produced. It demonstrated that a SaaS business could be built to global scale from Wellington, and its success opened doors and raised ambitions for a generation of NZ software founders.

About this profile

This profile was researched and written by Noteworthy using publicly available sources. If something here is out of date or incorrect, let us know and we’ll review it.

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