Xero
Company History
Xero History: Founding, Growth & Key Milestones
Founded 2006 in Wellington, New Zealand
When was Xero founded?
Xero was founded in 2006 in Wellington, New Zealand by Rod Drury and Hamish Edwards, making it 20 years old.
- Founded
- 2006
- Founding place
- Wellington, New Zealand
- Founders
- Rod Drury and Hamish Edwards
- Headquarters today
- Wellington, New Zealand
- Milestones documented
- 10 (2006–2026)
- Current CEO
- Sukhinder Singh Cassidy
- Acquisitions
- 3
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 2006 | Rod Drury and Hamish Edwards found Xero in Wellington, New Zealand. |
| 2007 | Xero lists on the NZX. |
| 2010 | Peter Thiel Invests |
| 2012 | Xero lists on the ASX. |
| 2018 | Steve Vamos succeeds Rod Drury as CEO; Xero buys Hubdoc and delists from the NZX. |
| 2020 | Waddle Acquired |
| 2021 | Acquired Planday A/S |
| 2023 | Sukhinder Singh Cassidy becomes CEO. |
| 2025 | Claire Bramley becomes CFO on 1 April; Xero completes the Melio acquisition on 15 October. |
| 2026 | Matan Bar named CEO of Xero US; FY26 revenue reaches ~$1.59 billion (NZ$2.75 billion). |
- Where was Xero founded?
- Xero was founded in Wellington, New Zealand in 2006. wikidata.org
- Who founded Xero?
- Xero was founded by Rod Drury and Hamish Edwards.
- When did Xero start?
- Xero was founded in 2006.
- How old is Xero?
- Xero is 20 years old as of 2026.
Founding Story
Rod Drury and Hamish Edwards started Xero in Wellington in 2006 to move small business bookkeeping off desktop software and into the browser. The product was built around automatic bank feeds and a single online ledger that a business owner and their accountant could both work in. Xero listed on the NZX in 2007, well before it had meaningful revenue, and used that capital to build the product and expand into Australia and the UK.
Founders
Rod Drury
Rod Drury is a New Zealand software entrepreneur who co-founded Xero in Wellington in 2006 and served as its chief executive until 2018. Before Xero he built software businesses including AfterMail, which he sold to Quest Software. As CEO he took Xero public on the NZX in 2007, added an ASX listing in 2012 and led its expansion into Australia, the UK and the US. Rod Drury was born in 1966. Education: Napier Boys' High School; Victoria University of Wellington. Sir Rodney Kenneth Drury was born in 1966. He made his first fortune with Glazier Systems, a New Zealand software consultancy sold in 1999, and later founded the email technology company Aftermail.
Hamish Edwards
Hamish Edwards co-founded Xero in 2006 alongside Rod Drury. Working as an accountant, he was deeply furious at how incredibly terrible, slow, and outdated legacy desktop accounting software was. He provided the absolute critical accounting expertise to ensure Xero's beautifully designed cloud software actually complied with complex global tax regulations. (Exact birth year remains publicly undisclosed).
Key Milestones
Rod Drury and Hamish Edwards found Xero in Wellington, New Zealand.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgXero lists on the NZX.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgXero lists on the ASX.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgSteve Vamos succeeds Rod Drury as CEO; Xero buys Hubdoc and delists from the NZX.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgSukhinder Singh Cassidy becomes CEO.
Source: xero.comClaire Bramley becomes CFO on 1 April; Xero completes the Melio acquisition on 15 October.
Source: cpapracticeadvisor.comMatan Bar named CEO of Xero US; FY26 revenue reaches ~$1.59 billion (NZ$2.75 billion).
Source: businesswire.comMajor Acquisitions
Melio Payments Inc.
2025Give Xero a US bill pay and accounts receivable platform to speed up growth in the US.
Planday A/S
2021Add workforce scheduling for shift-based businesses.
Hubdoc Inc.
2018Add automatic capture of bills and receipts.
Keep researching Xero
Xero Company History FAQ
When, where, and how was Xero founded?
Xero was founded in 2006 in Wellington, New Zealand, by serial entrepreneur Rod Drury and personal accountant Hamish Edwards, initially named Accounting 2.0.
What problem did Rod Drury set out to solve with Xero?
Frustrated by clunky desktop accounting software (like MYOB and QuickBooks desktop) that required manual file backups, email exchanges, and version errors, Drury designed a single, pure cloud ledger accessible anywhere via a web browser.
When did Xero go public?
Xero completed an innovative initial public offering on the New Zealand Exchange (NZX) in 2007, raising NZ$15 million before dual-listing on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX: XRO) in 2012 and consolidating solely on the ASX in 2018.
How did Xero expand internationally from New Zealand?
Xero first captured the New Zealand and Australian small business markets by partnering directly with accounting practices, subsequently scaling into the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, and South Africa.
Who served as CEO of Xero throughout its history?
Founder Rod Drury led Xero as CEO from 2006 to 2018, followed by former Microsoft executive Steve Vamos from 2018 to 2023, and former Google and StubHub executive Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, appointed in February 2023.
How many subscribers does Xero have worldwide?
Xero has surpassed 4.2 million subscribers globally, cementing its position as one of the world's leading cloud platforms for small businesses and their advisors.
What was the significance of the Hubdoc acquisition in 2018?
In 2018, Xero acquired Canadian automated data-capture startup Hubdoc for $70 million, embedding receipt scanning and automated document fetching directly into the core Xero ledger.
How has Xero embraced artificial intelligence in accounting?
Xero launched 'Just Ask Xero' (JAX), a conversational AI assistant that generates invoices, completes bank reconciliations, and answers cash flow questions using natural language across WhatsApp, Slack, and email.
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