Rob Imbeault and Matt Whitteker founded Assent in Ottawa in 2005. The company was small for its first decade, with about 25 staff before it took a C$20 million equity investment in the mid-2010s.
In 2010 Assent shifted toward supply chain compliance. Manufacturers faced growing rules on conflict minerals, chemicals and human rights, and the company sold software to manage them.
In August 2014 Andrew Waitman left Pythian and took over as CEO. He had met Whitteker at a local boxing gym.
Vista Equity Partners led a $350 million round in January 2022 that made Assent a unicorn. Annual recurring revenue passed $100 million in June 2024, and Michael Southworth became CEO in May 2025.