Some products generate value through expertise, software quality, operation, and long term responsibility. We build and sell those products.
Some tools serve a different role. They define shared structure. They establish common standards. They allow results to move safely between laboratories, hospitals, and national programmes.
When a tool operates at this level, it must be universal to work.
When a tool must be open
We release a tool under a permissive open source licence when restricting access would prevent it from functioning as intended.
This applies when a tool:
- defines shared representations of evidence or uncertainty
- encodes standards or reference structures
- supports interoperability across independent institutions
- must be applied consistently to allow comparison and reuse
In these cases, commercial licensing creates friction that pricing or contracts cannot solve. Adoption fragments. Trust weakens. Coordination fails.
For this class of tools, openness is a requirement.
Free and open by design
When we make a tool open, the licence is irrevocable. Anyone can use it, modify it, and build on it.
This is not a trial or a transition. It is a permanent decision.
We do this because shared infrastructure only works when every participant can rely on it equally.
How this fits our work
We continue to build expert tools, systems, and services. These generate value through quality, reliability, governance, and long term operation.
We do not seek to extract value from layers that must remain universal to function.
This separation is deliberate. It prevents control of standards from becoming a source of rent. It reduces systemic risk. It allows professional services to exist without distorting shared foundations.
Our background
Our work is grounded in academic genomics and public research, where open methods and shared standards are essential for progress.
Releasing foundational tools openly follows directly from that history. It reflects how science advances and how trusted infrastructure is built.
What this means
Some of our tools are commercial. Some are free and open.
The distinction is structural, not promotional.
Open tools are intended to be relied upon, embedded, and governed over decades. Independent adoption, including competing implementations, is expected.
Universal infrastructure must remain universal. That is why these tools are open.
