A cannabis-focused e-commerce platform has netted $3 million in funding from a venture capital firm that has made early investments in several non-marijuana companies, including the popular news website Buzzfeed.
LeafLink, a New York-based wholesale management platform for cannabis businesses, will use the money to expand its B2B platform into newly legal markets, including California, Nevada, and Oregon, the company said in a press release.
Leaflink launched in March 2016 and is live in Colorado and Washington.
Lerer Hippeau Ventures led the funding. In addition to Buzzfeed, the New York-based venture capital firm has invested in the mattress company Caspar, the insurance company Oscar Health and Doctor on Demand, a virtual medical practice. LeafLink is the firm’s first cannabis-related investment, the news release said.
Other investors included Casa Verde Capital, the investment firm founded by Snoop Dogg; Phyto Partners, a canna-centric venture capital firm in Boca Raton, Florida; and Wisdom VC, which invests in “planetary health and human well-being.”
The raise also included Paul Ciriello and Wan Li Zhu, the founder of and a partner, respectively, in Fairhaven Capital in Boston. Fairhaven has made only one other cannabis investment.
To date, Leaflink has raised more than $4 million in capital, including a previous angel round of $1 million that closed in December 2015.
credit: mjbizdaily.com
