Freenome: From Five People Around a Poker Table to a Defining Company in Cancer Detection

One of my earliest memories of Freenome was being invited to their poker night while I was an intern at a16z. Back then the entire company was five people around a table. Friday, the company announced its path to the public markets. A lot can happen in a decade.

For Averin Capital, this is a major milestone. It will be our first portfolio company with a clear route to the public stage and it reflects the type of science driven platform we aspire to back.

But for me, it’s also personal. I was deeply involved with Freenome from the Seed and Series A at a16z, when the idea that you could read biology in a fundamentally new way was still an audacious bet.

I still remember the early board meetings and the data that shifted everything. One blind test of cancer samples stands out. The accuracy was startling and that was the moment the science fiction started to look like science.

The road from a seed deck to a public company is brutal. Knowing that journey firsthand, I want to acknowledge the original crew around that poker table who believed early and built the 0 to 1 foundation: Gabriel Otte, Riley Ennis, and Charles Roberts

You created the vision that made everything else possible. To the entire Freenome team, past and present, congratulations.

Excited for what comes next.