As cannabis replaces tech as the fastest growing industry in the U.S., legal marijuana is getting a big boost from tech's past success.
Cannabis companies like Meadow, Ease, Nestdrop and EazeMD have already received funding from Silicon Valley's heavy hitters, and increasingly tech's profits are finding their way into greener pastures.
"Cannabis and Silicon Valley are a natural fit," says Adam Bierman, co-founder and chief executive of MedMen, a Los Angeles-based cannabis management and investment firm. "The entrepreneurial spirit that exists in the cannabis industry today is reminiscent of the heydays of the tech boom. Tech veterans are bringing their cash and experience to the cannabis space because they understand the importance of being early."
Two years ago, Peter Thiel and the Founders Fund made headlines when they entered the space. Since then, there has been a steady stream of tech seed money funding cannabis ventures. Meanwhile, the North American legal cannabis market has been growing at a compound annual rate of 40 percent, reaching nearly $7 billion in sales last year.
Medical marijuana is legal in 28 states and Canada, and the number of states with legal adult use doubled to eight last November, including California. Canada is expected to vote on legalizing adult use this year. According to Wall Street investment bank Cowen and Company, the full legal market is expected to reach $50 billion within the decade.
On March 28 & 29, MedMen and IMN, a global organizer of institutional finance and investment conferences, will bring cannabis investing to the heart of Silicon Valley. The inaugural Institutional Capital & Cannabis Conference (IC3) is the country's first ever cannabis conference dedicated exclusively to institutional and accredited investors.
The panel of speakers is a veritable who's who of investment firms, operators, industry advocates and the leaders who are shaping today's rapidly growing cannabis industry. Chris Leavy, the former CIO of BlackRock, is keynoting the event.
"No serious investor can ignore this industry today," says IMN's CEO Julius Hill. "Emerging industries do not happen every day. Returns like this do not happen every day. But you still need to understand the playing field, and you need to have a strategy and a roadmap. This event has been created specifically with the needs of the institutional and accredited investor in mind."
For more information:
medmen.com
www.imn.org
March 28 & 29, San Jose