The cannabis industry is full steam ahead. Innovation is a top priority for industry leaders, and the hottest sectors in cannabis are wearing their tech innovations like a badge of honor.
The trends in cannabis technology are all across the spectrum. Forget the old days of growing pot in your basement. Virtual reality can take users on tours of cultivation facilities, and state-of-the-art light fixtures can replace sunlight for exceptional growth rates. Social media and payment apps are even changing the ways people buy cannabis.
There is a potential $13 billion market to be made in these ancillary companies. So keep your eye on the prize. These are six of the hottest tech companies in cannabis right now.
Go Green with The Green Solution
The Green Solution (TGS) defines what it means to be a cannabis concierge. TGS cultivates and extracts their own cannabis and brings their signature products to consumers online and in their twelve retail stores throughout Colorado.
When it comes to cultivation, TGS treats their flowers with radio frequencies (RF) in order to meet acceptable counts of yeast and mold. Regulations in most states require growers to keep the yeast and mold count on their plants below a thresholdof 10,000 units per gram, and RF is a non-invasive, non-toxic procedure that protects the potency of the plant.
Last year, TGS secured $7.5 million from iAnthus Capital (CSE:IAN) (OTC: ITHUF) to expand their cultivation and processing facilities in Colorado. TGS developed their RF technology and applied it to their grow at Los Sueños Farm, the largest outdoor cannabis farm in the United States.
The two big names in cannabis will be working together to refine this RF technology. TGS signed an advisory agreement with iAnthus, consenting to provide their unique cultivation expertise in regard to iAnthus’ new developments in Massachusetts, Vermont, New Mexico, and Colorado.
Steep Hill’s Laboratory Solutions
The R&D team at Steep Hill Labs Inc is still doing their part to enrich the cannabis industry. Established in 2008, they are the first company to specialize in the testing and analyzation of medicinal and recreational marijuana to ensure it meets public safety standards.
Steep Hill also uses their laboratory solutions to helps growers recognize different strains and the unique CBD and THC concentrations in each.
Steep Hill Labs recently completed Series III funding for their science and technology company. Locking in $2.5 million from investors, Steep Hill is aimed to expand their tech and research to better assist the cannabis cultivation across the United States.
Their potency and safety testing technology streamlines the industry’s ability to standardize the growth, production, and packaging of cannabis in adherence with good practice regulations.
“We are excited to lead the movement toward recognized standardization that will ultimately provide the best ROI to all stakeholders and market participants.”Jmîchaeĺe Keller, CEO of Steep Hill, announced in the company’s press release last November.
Re-Connect with MassRoots
As one of the biggest names in canna-tech, MassRoots Inc. (OTCMKTS: MSRT) is making huge strides after re-instating CEO Isaac Dietrich. The hugest is in their development of blockchain technology, which the company is using to improve the social efficiency of their business portal.
On Valentine’s Day, MassRoots announced their plans for the recent $4.75 million they raised in equity financing. MassRoots will enhance their website’s user interface with a new format that focuses more on review-based interactions like Yelp or Amazon.
This investment reflects the company’s unique position as one of the most influential social media tools in cannabis. The established online community at MassRoots is a trusted place cannabis users can come to review product, connect with dispensaries, and make more educated purchasing decisions. With blockchain technology, the site can collect metadata on their users without compromising their identity and then funnel it to the appropriate companies looking for dedicated customers.
Baker, the All-in-One Tech Tool
Modern dispensaries are facing all of the modern challenges. Social media definitely makes it easier to connect with customers. New point of sales systems with digital signage make it easier for customers to shop and pay. But the difficulties arise when none of this new technology can talk to each other.
Baker is an e-commerce platform that combines all of these separate applications into one communicative system. Their new API system, similar to those from Apica Systems, has 25 integrations, including advertising and delivery, to solve the industry-wide problem of technological miscommunication. Dispensary staff can now update sales information, communicate with customers, process sales, and post to social media all from one application.
Baker aims to be the dispensaries’ single source for cannabis information. When they completed their first round of funding last spring, the fledgling tech company secured $3.5 million to optimize their software. Now, their technology is utilized in 800 dispensaries around the country. And they aren’t even generating any revenue from these new consolidated services. “This is purely designed to add value to our clients,” Joel Milton, CEO of Baker, told Forbes last week.
Hold Your Breath for Cannabix
Technology applies to social media, money management, and cultivation. But it also applies to law enforcement. While many industry leaders are wary of a marijuana breathalyzer, Cannabix Tehnologies Inc (CSE: BLO, NASDAQ: BLOZF) is embracing the opportunity to assist law enforcement and employers as marijuana is progressively legalized around the world.
Because most drug testing for marijuana relies on the opinions of officers, Cannabix wants to deliver a scientific approach that is accurate and non-invasive. They have been working with a research team at the University of Florida to develop the cutting edge breath detection technology that is at the heart of their breathalyzer.
Pot Network reported on the company’s latest development of the Beta 3.0 Cannabix Marijuana Breathalyzer. It passed preliminary tests, and Cannabix is ready to test their new prototype in the field.
Take a Tour with Future Farm
Cannabis social events are the next best thing in California. Escaping to a virtual world while high is an obvious adventure. But from a business angle, virtual and augmented reality (VR; AR) can create a truly unique platform where cultivators and consumers can interact.
Future Farm Technologies (CSE: FFT) is making its name for itself in the niche market of AR cannabis. They teamed up with AR E1, LLC to bring their exclusive augmented reality technology to the cannabis industry.
According to their investor presentation, Future Farms will engage consumers with their AR app by connecting them with cannabis producers and distributors “through a fully immersive ecosystem.” This innovation will connect those in states with stricter laws to dispensaries in legal states, creating an exchange of information that is almost seamless.
Using the AR Cannacube, Future Farm’s app for their augmented reality experience, will give consumers access to the dispensary from home. Shoppers inside the dispensary can hover their mobile device over products to get valuable concentration information in real time, and the app makes possible for consumers to pre-order product.
More importantly, the interaction with AR will create real-time relationships between customers and the dispensary that will greatly increase their access to information.
In an industry where knowledge is scarce and secretive, Future Farm is jumping on the opportunity to educate and familiarize customers with cannabis.
credit:420intel.com