The venture capital firm founded by rapper Snoop Dogg to invest in ancillary cannabis companies has closed its inaugural fund after securing $45 million from investors, making it one of the larger raises in the marijuana industry.
The firm has invested in eight companies so far, and plans to announce more investments in the coming weeks, said Karan Wadhera, the firm’s managing director, in an interview with TechCrunch.com.
The money was raised from individuals and family offices. While institutional investors were “poking around” the fund, none ultimately chipped in, Wadhera said.
Companies that Casa Verde invested in include cannabis-focused tech companies LeafLink and Green Bits, delivery service Eaze, and Merry Jane, a marijuana-minded online media company that Snoop helped co-found in 2015.
“We’re more interested in companies that are building functions for the long term because those short-term solutions won’t be relevant once we’re in a federally legal environment,” Wadhera told TechCrunch.com.
