Curio Genomics Appoints John Freshley as CEO to Advance Innovation in Agricultural Genomics

New CEO brings proven leadership in genomic software to power next-generation breeding.

ANN ARBOR, MI, UNITED STATES, May 29, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Curio Genomics, a leading provider of next-generation sequencing (NGS) analysis software for plant and animal breeding, today announced the appointment of John Freshley as Chief Executive Officer. The announcement follows the recent closing of a funding round aimed at accelerating Curio’s platform development and commercial growth. Freshley, who has served as Executive Chairman since 2021, brings more than two decades of experience founding and scaling innovative early-stage ventures in life sciences, with a focus on genomics and data-driven software.

Freshley was the founding CEO of Compendia Bioscience, a cancer genomics software company that transformed large-scale genomic data into an intuitive platform used by researchers and pharmaceutical companies to discover novel drug targets and identify molecular subtypes of cancer. He continued to serve as Chief Business Officer through Compendia’s acquisition by Life Technologies (now part of Thermo Fisher Scientific), where its Oncomine^® platform remains a market leader. Freshley has since continued to invest in and lead early-stage ventures across the life sciences.

“John brings a rare combination of leadership experience, strategic thinking, and a strong track record building genomics software companies,” said Shawn Quinn, Co-Founder and CTO at Curio Genomics. “As a board member, he has driven our strategy to focus on the agriculture market, while translating customer needs into strategic partnerships that drive innovation and adoption.”

Curio’s cloud-native platform, called CURIO™, is purpose-built for agriculture, enabling breeders and researchers to visualize, analyze, and collaborate on large-scale sequencing data in real time. The software accelerates the discovery of important traits and supports faster, more informed selection decisions across a wide range of crop and livestock species.

“Agrigenomics is at a turning point—much like cancer genomics was 15 years ago,” said Freshley. “Falling sequencing costs are finally aligning with the scale and economics of agricultural markets, and analysis tools are beginning to catch up to the complexity of the data. Curio is at the forefront of that transformation. I'm excited to lead a company that empowers breeders with the speed, clarity, and collaboration that modern agriculture demands.”

About Curio Genomics
Curio Genomics accelerates agricultural genomics research to help breeders deliver better products to market. Its cloud-native platform, CURIO™, leverages a proprietary architecture to dramatically boost the speed, scalability, and cost-efficiency of NGS analysis—transforming large and complex genomic datasets into actionable insights within minutes. Designed for ease of use and collaboration, CURIO empowers plant and animal breeders to make real-time, data-informed decisions without relying on specialized bioinformatics teams. With a mission to make genomics insight-driven, scalable, and accessible, Curio supports innovation in productivity, sustainability, and climate resilience. Learn more at www.curiogenomics.com and follow Curio on LinkedIn and X.

John Freshley
Curio Genomics
+1 734-926-5530
jfreshley@curiogenomics.com
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