Tiger Global Management has partnered with Casa Verde Capital to raise $50 million worth of funding for a company that tracks the supply of marijuana plants and products.
Metrc, originally started in 2013 to aid Colorado’s Marijuana Enforcement Division, is now used across 11 states allowing marijuana to be traced across the board from suppliers by government regulators. Close to 20 million packages have been tracked with an approximate 85,000 registered users.
“The advent of seed-to-sale tracking and the richness of data it yields has made the cannabis industry the most organised and transparent in the world,”explained Karan Wadhera, Managing Partner of Casa Verde Capital. “We are excited to continue to supporting compliant cannabis operations through out partnership with Metrc.”
With marijuana now legal in a number of states across the US as well as Canada; there has been an influx of funds put into what is fast becoming an exciting industry. Within the US alone, it is expected to reach up to $50 billion over the course of the next ten years, with both medical and recreational marijuana having a major impacts on the market.
Already used in 30 states for medical purposes and nine states respectively for recreational use; sales reached over $9.5 billion during 2017, an estimated increase of 33% from 2016, reported through special research by Arcview Market Research and BDS Analytics.
Metrc recently picked up major contracts for the tracking and tracing of marijuana in two of the biggest markets; California and Massachusetts. Developed by technology firm, Franwell Inc; using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology and serialised item tracking, Metrc provides a live tracking into the operators itineries.
“The strong chain of custody and traceability that Metrc provides not only protects the public, but also supports governing bodies in charge of this rapidly growing industry,” said Jeff Wells, CEO of Metrc. “We believe our regulatory reporting and tracking solution will drive the success of the legal cannabis industry.”
With attractive revenue and potential for expansion across further states, a vast array of industry openings, the reality is that the marijuana industry has become prime real estate for investors.
Attracting such an investor is without doubt a sign that the marijuana industry is being taken seriously; Tiger Global Management is amongst the most active investors worldwide, having already heavily invested in companies such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Flipkart and Spotify.
Jacob Lee Cheung- Research analyst RBI Associates