NEW YORK – LeafLink, the cannabis industry’s wholesale marketplace, today announced the completion of a $35M Series B round of funding. The round was led by Thrive Capital. Current investors Nosara Capital, Lerer Hippeau, Wisdom VC, and Thought Into Action Ventures also participated in the round alongside L2 Ventures.
The company already processes more than $1 Billion in annualized orders through its e-commerce marketplace, making up an estimated 16% of wholesale cannabis orders in the United States. Retailers use LeafLink to order inventory from multiple brands in one cart, view up-to-date brand menus, review orders, request samples, and discover new products. LeafLink further serves vendors with tools such as order management, customer relationship management (CRM), inventory tracking, and customized reporting.
With the additional funding, LeafLink will accelerate its expansion roadmap while enhancing its marketplace technology. The company has begun a massive recruiting effort for new members across all teams and in both their New York and Los Angeles offices. Notably, the company is focused on scaling LeafLink Financial, which provides licensed retailers and brands with a safe, compliant, payment and credit management solution. The service is currently live in four US states and is LeafLink’s answer to industry-wide challenges caused by the lack of financial services in the cannabis space.
“We are excited to announce this huge capital milestone and our partnership with some of the most prolific venture capitalists in technology. This funding speaks not only to the incredible growth of our company and the value we provide to our client base, but also to the professionalization of the cannabis industry at large.” said Ryan G. Smith, Co-founder and CEO of LeafLink. “Two years ago, we welcomed Lerer Hippeau to the cannabis industry in our seed round, and we are proud to now welcome Thrive Capital to the space through their investment in LeafLink. We look forward to solidifying our place as a leader in this rapidly evolving industry by bringing the best products and solutions to the LeafLink community and beyond.”
The cannabis industry has gained great momentum in recent years, and LeafLink has outpaced industry growth. Since 2016, LeafLink has expanded its network to connect more than 1,200 licensed cannabis brands to over 3,500 cannabis retailers across 22 territories in the U.S. and Canada. In most markets, four out of five cannabis retailers order inventory through LeafLink.
As some form of cannabis use is now legal in 33 states, it is essential to build professional tools that provide the same operational support, financing, compliance, and ease of use found in other industries, says Jared Weinstein of Thrive Capital. LeafLink is setting a new standard for the cannabis industry to expand responsibly and we are excited to support their development.”
About LeafLink:
LeafLink, the cannabis industry’s wholesale marketplace, is defining the way that thousands of cannabis brands and retailers manage and track their orders and relationships so they can focus on growing their businesses. Retailers, who previously called, emailed, or texted 50+ sales reps to place an order, now save a day per week shopping all of their cannabis brands in one cart on LeafLink. The e-commerce marketplace empowers brands, distributors, and retailers who want to streamline the ordering process, simplify communication, and spend less time on administrative work. The New York City founded company first launched its marketplace in Colorado in March 2016, and is now live in 19 territories across the United States. In early 2019, LeafLink announced a joint venture with Canopy Rivers, the venture arm of Canopy Growth (NYSE: CGC), LeafLink International, expanding LeafLink’s industry-standard technology to global cannabis markets, starting with Canada. It has offices in Los Angeles, New York, and Toronto, in addition to satellite offices in the states where it operates. Cannabis retailers and brands use LeafLink to manage over $1B+ in annual orders, making up an estimated 16% of US wholesale cannabis commerce. Backed by leading venture capital firms and strategic investors such as Thrive Capital, Nosara Capital and Lerer Hippeau, LeafLink has raised more than US$51 million to date. Learn more at https://leaflink.com/.
