Aura’s Solstice AI Engine Adds New Growth Story to Strong Q3

Revenue Growth and Cash Flow Arrive Together

Aura’s first full quarter as the enlarged Aura-Qoria group delivered the combination investors typically want from a software company: growth that did not require another cash burn warning. Pro forma revenue reached US$87.9 million in Q3 2026, up 24% year on year, while annual recurring revenue rose 24% to US$355.0 million. Adjusted free cash flow was US$12.4 million, a US$15.5 million improvement from the same quarter a year earlier.

The result updates the picture presented in the company’s earlier post-Qoria cash flow update, which reported the initial quarterly figures before Aura revised its ARR calculation. The revised ARR reflects approximately US$200,000 of September revenue reclassified from recurring to non-recurring after updated partner information was identified during the auditor’s review. Aura reaffirmed its full-year targets of at least 20% ARR growth and positive adjusted free cash flow from transaction close through year-end.

Qoria Integration Reaches Its First Operating Test

The figures are primarily unaudited pro forma measures, combining Aura and Qoria as though the businesses were together for the full periods shown. Statutory Q3 numbers include Qoria only from the 17 July acquisition close, making the pro forma view more useful for year-on-year comparison, but also less definitive than a full period of consolidated reporting.

Operating momentum was spread across both sides of the business. Direct-to-consumer subscribers increased 13% year on year to 1.1 million, while average revenue per user rose 11% and marketing spend fell 18%. Enterprise customers included approximately 2,300 employers, up 31%, and around 7,000 K-12 districts, up 5%, with enterprise net revenue retention at 103%.

Aura also said its cost-out programme is running ahead of the original plan, with US$66 million of savings actioned or planned against an initial US$55 million target. That includes US$42 million in annualised direct and operating cost savings, although the company says the full run-rate effect will be realised in 2027. Direct-to-consumer marketing spend is expected to be US$24 million lower in 2026 than in 2025.

Solstice Puts AI at the Centre of the Product Roadmap

The more ambitious part of the update is technological rather than financial. Aura introduced Solstice, an in-house AI engine built around data collectors, a household knowledge graph, machine-learning models, a proprietary foundation model and an action plane. The company says the system is intended to move beyond alerts and task lists towards specialised AI agents that can identify risks and take action when directed.

The new Aura experience is currently in limited beta, with broader availability expected in early 2027. Aura also launched Trusted Family Access in beta for protecting ageing parents and adult relatives from scams and fraud, while data-removal coverage has surpassed 500 brokers. Those are product claims and planned release milestones, not yet evidence of commercial adoption for the new platform.

Profitability Progress Comes with Important Qualifications

Adjusted EBITDA remained negative at US$14.9 million, although Aura reported a 45% year-on-year improvement. The company’s statutory pro forma loss before income tax was US$66.3 million, including US$29.8 million of acquisition-related costs, a reminder that the headline cash-flow result sits alongside a substantial accounting loss.

Aura has also changed the definition of adjusted free cash flow. The revised measure adds back only IPO-readiness and acquisition costs paid in cash during the period, rather than using accrual-based adjustments. Under that definition, the quarter’s US$12.4 million adjusted FCF included US$26.3 million of cash IPO and acquisition-related costs in the reconciliation. Net debt stood at US$2.6 million at 30 September, with total liquidity of US$128.3 million.

Management is separately evaluating a potential dual listing on a US exchange, subject to board approval and regulatory processes. That proposal remains exploratory. The nearer test is whether the newly combined business can preserve 20%-plus ARR growth while converting cost actions and Solstice investment into repeatable cash generation, particularly once acquisition costs fall out of the comparison.