The news: Cannabis analytics company Headset on Tuesday announced that it raised $8.6 million in funding. That includes $3 million of venture capital from a round led by Althea, as well as the conversion of $5.6 million of bridge notes issued in August 2020 and this past April.
The Seattle-based company reports having more than 300 customers and 50 employees.
Headset has raised about $23 million, according to GeekWire reporting.
The tech: Headset provides data analytics for the cannabis industry on growers and product manufacturers; retail sales; food, health and beauty products; financial services; and hardware.
The company gathers information on market trends, top selling cannabis strains, market projections for states where recreational marijuana is newly legalized, ruminations on the impacts of inflation, and favored product brands in different regions.
The new funding will help Headset expand its analysis into new legal markets and launch additional services.
The founders: Headset was founded in 2015 by CEO Cy Scott, Chief Design Officer Brian Wansolich and CTO Scott Vickers, who all previously co-founded Leafly, an online cannabis marketplace that is going public via a SPAC merger.
The tailwinds: While Washington and Colorado were the first states to legalize recreational marijuana use back in 2012, an additional 16 states plus Washington, D.C. have followed suit. More than a dozen others have approved cannabis for medical use.
When the pandemic forced businesses to close in order slow COVID-19’s spread, marijuana dispensaries in many states were deemed “essential” and allowed to remain open. The New York Times called it “official recognition that for some Americans, cannabis is as necessary as milk and bread.”
And essential could equal lucrative: Headset predicts that U.S. cannabis sales will reach $23.6 billion this year, an increase of 28% over 2020.
The sector: Competition in the cannabis analytics space include BDSA, which according to PitchBook has raised $16.2 million, and Cannabis Big Data. Both are based in Colorado.
There are big dollars flowing into online sales of cannabis. Oregon’s Dutchie has raised more than $600 million while Leafly is valued at nearly $400 million.
There is also continued momentum in delivery. Uber entered the cannabis market just last week, announcing plans to launch a delivery service in Ontario.
The investors: In addition to the private equity investment firm Althea, the VC round included two investors focused on the cannabis sector: Poseidon Investment Management and WGD Capital.
