Seattle-based marijuana data and analytics provider Headset raised $12.1 million for expansion, with Canadian marijuana giant Canopy Growth Corp. acquiring a key stake.
Toronto-based Canopy Rivers, the venture-capital arm of Canopy Growth, invested $3.1 million in Headset preferred shares through a funding round led by San Francisco-based Poseidon Asset Management and AFI Capital Partners of Santa Monica, Calif.
Canopy Growth recently said it wants to make some moves in the United States now that hemp has been legalized there. Canopy Rivers also said this is its first investment in a technology-focused cannabis firm.
Meanwhile, Headset, whose analytic sales products are particularly strong in western U.S. states such as California, has been looking at ways to expand into Canada.
Karoline Hunter, Canopy Rivers’ senior director of investor relations and communications, said the company isn’t disclosing at this time how much of an ownership stake it is getting, whether it will get a position on Headset’s board or whether it has options for future equity stakes.
As far as access to Headset’s analytics, “the ownership of the data lies with Headset,” Hunter wrote in an email to Marijuana Business Daily. “Canopy Rivers will have a general subscription to the platform.”
Narbe Alexandrian, Canopy Rivers’ vice president of business development, indicated in a statement that Canopy was interested in Headset because of its ability to deliver cannabis data and analytics in real time.
He noted such analytics is critical to competitive success, such as understanding what’s influencing buying decisions and guiding brand success in the cannabis space.