US-based online safety specialist Aura has agreed to acquire Australian technology company Qoria in a deal valuing the target at about US$675 million, setting up a rare path for a private American firm to relist on the Australian Securities Exchange through a merger. The transaction will combine two fast-growing players in digital safety for families and schools, with Aura planning to use the enlarged group’s scale to chase global demand for tools that monitor children’s activity across phones, laptops, and classroom networks.
The agreement also marks a turning point for Qoria, which has spent years building its footprint in school communities and home networks and will now be folded into a larger platform that intends to trade in Australia under a new structure. For investors in both markets, the deal is a test of whether a cross-border, AI-driven safety business can command a premium valuation on the ASX while competing with consumer brands like Apple’s Screen Time and Microsoft’s Family Safety.
Inside the $675 million offer and ASX relisting plan
The core of the transaction is a proposal by Aura Consolidated Group to acquire all of Australia-listed Qoria at a valuation of about US$675 million, a price pitched as a meaningful premium to where the stock had been trading. Qoria told investors that the U.S.-based buyer intends to use the deal not only to take control of the company but also to create a new vehicle that will relist on the Australian Securities Exchange, giving local shareholders continued exposure to the combined digital safety group. According to Qoria’s statement, the approach from Aura Consolidated Group came with a clear message that the Australian listing would remain central to the strategy rather than being a stepping stone to a U.S. exchange.
On Aura’s side, the company has framed the deal as a transformational acquisition that will give it the scale and geographic reach to serve families and schools in multiple regions from a single platform. In its own announcement, the firm said the combination with Qoria would help it become a Global Leader in what it described as Digital Safety Products and Solutions, with Aura Expects language signaling that the enlarged group will trade on the ASX once the merger is implemented. The structure effectively turns Qoria into the on-ramp for Aura’s public-market ambitions, a reversal of the more common pattern in which Australian tech firms seek listings in New York.
How Aura and Qoria fit together in digital safety
Aura has built its reputation as an AI-powered online safety platform that focuses on individuals and families, bundling identity protection, device monitoring, and content filtering into subscription products. The company, headquartered in BOSTON, has told investors that its technology is designed to detect risks such as cyberbullying, scams, and inappropriate content across a household’s devices, using machine learning to flag patterns that traditional filters might miss. In its merger announcement, Aura described itself as a leading AI-powered online safety platform for individuals and families, positioning that consumer focus as a complement to Qoria’s strength in education.
Qoria, by contrast, has grown out of the school sector, where its tools are embedded in classroom networks to help teachers and administrators manage what students can access on laptops and tablets. The company, which traces its roots back to the business co-founded by Mr Levy as Family Zone in 2015, has focused on products that can be adopted by school communities globally and integrated into existing learning platforms. Reporting on the merger has highlighted that Qoria has already been adopted by school communities globally, giving Aura an immediate footprint in classrooms that it previously lacked. By bringing together Aura’s home-focused AI tools and Qoria’s education-centric network controls, the combined group is betting that parents and schools will increasingly want a single, consistent layer of protection that follows children from home to campus and back again.
Leadership shifts and the role of Qoria’s founders
Leadership continuity is often a sticking point in cross-border tech mergers, and in this case the parties have moved quickly to signal that Qoria’s existing management will have a central role in the enlarged group. Coverage of the deal has noted that the Qoria boss, Mr Levy, is expected to head the expanded online safety group after what has been described as a $1 billion US merger, a sign that the buyer sees value in keeping the founder’s strategic vision in place. In the same context, local business reporting in Perth has contrasted the Qoria transaction with other capital-raising efforts, such as Perth biotech PYC tapping US investors in a huge $653m raising, to underscore how Australian technology founders are increasingly navigating global capital flows.
On the Aura side, senior executives have also been open about their own transitions as the merger closes. Brendan Cox, who has been a key figure in the company’s leadership, has publicly described the completion of the transaction as a personal transition point, explaining that he has decided to move from CEO to Chairm as the combined group targets fresh growth. In a detailed note to stakeholders, he said he was proud to share that the enlarged business is targeting 20% growth in 2026, framing the leadership reshuffle as part of a broader plan to scale the platform rather than a retreat from day-to-day operations. His comments on stepping from CEO to Chairm underline how the merger is prompting both companies to rethink their governance structures to match a more global footprint.
Strategic logic: building a global leader in online safety
From a strategic perspective, the deal is best understood as a scale play in a market that is fragmenting across devices, platforms, and jurisdictions. Parents now juggle safety settings on iPhones, Chromebooks, Xbox consoles, and classroom management systems, while schools must comply with local regulations on student data and online content. By combining Aura’s AI-driven consumer tools with Qoria’s school-focused infrastructure, the merged company is positioning itself as a one-stop provider that can offer consistent policies and reporting across home and classroom environments. In its formal communications, Aura has repeatedly described the transaction as one that Creates a Global Leader in Digital Safety Products and Solutions, language that reflects an ambition to set the standard for how families and educators manage children’s online lives.
The choice to relist on the ASX rather than pursue a fresh U.S. listing also reflects a calculated bet on where investor understanding of this niche is deepest. Qoria’s shareholder base in Australia has already been exposed to the economics of school-based safety software, including long sales cycles and government procurement processes, while Aura brings a subscription-driven consumer model that is more familiar to U.S. growth investors. By anchoring the combined entity in Australia, Aura Expects that it can tap into a market that has shown a willingness to back specialized technology stories, even as it continues to court international capital. The company’s own description of the merger, set out in the Aura Announces Acquisition materials, makes clear that the goal is not just to add revenue but to reshape the competitive landscape in digital safety.
What it means for investors, schools, and families
For Qoria shareholders, the immediate question is whether the US$675 million valuation fairly reflects the company’s prospects as part of a larger group. Some investors had previously argued that the market was undervaluing the firm’s global school footprint, pointing to contracts with education departments and the stickiness of its software once embedded in classroom devices. The merger terms, which envisage a new ASX-listed vehicle backed by Aura’s balance sheet and brand, give those investors a path to stay exposed to the sector while potentially benefiting from cost synergies and cross-selling into Aura’s consumer base. At the same time, the involvement of a U.S. buyer like Aura Consolidated Group introduces new variables around currency exposure, regulatory approvals, and integration risk that ASX investors will need to weigh carefully.
