Onside Secures New Zealand Government Funding For Biosecurity Management App

Christchurch, 1st June 2022 - New Zealand based Agritech company, Onside, has secured a $4 million co-investment from the New Zealand Government to expand and accelerate the development of its biosecurity technology.

Onside’s biosecurity software, Onside Intelligence (OSI), uses data from a range of sources and clever algorithms to construct an intricate rural network that’s able to map potential disease pathways and predict where incursions are likely to occur.

Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor announced the four-year partnership through the Ministry for Primary Industries’ Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures fund today in a media statement.

Onside has also recently partnered with Kiwifruit Vine Health (KVH) to implement technology that will power their Plant Pathway Plan, a programme designed to protect the $4 billion kiwifruit sector from future incursions.

KVH CEO, Leanne Stewart, says, “This is an important project and we’re excited to be working with Onside. The solution and tool the project will offer is going to add great value to growers, and improve day-to-day best biosecurity practice in a simple, innovative way.”

Ryan Higgs, Onside Co-founder and CEO, says, “It is great to have the backing of the MPI to deliver on our mission to revolutionise biosecurity and exciting to be working with KVH to put the technology into practice.”

Onside is headquartered in Christchurch, but has operations in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, and its data science leadership is based in New York. “Understanding the risk of a biosecurity incursion is a complex problem in large networks so we have sought out the best scientists in the world to work with us,” Higgs says.

In addition to its biosecurity technology, Onside provides a comprehensive digital toolkit for farms, orchards, vineyards and contractors to streamline operations and ease the burden of compliance. Onside is currently used on over 14,000 properties across New Zealand, Australia, and the UK.

Onside was awarded the Bio-protection Research Centre Science Award at the 2020 Biosecurity Awards and is a finalist for Start-up of the Year in the 2022 High Tech awards.

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