Debra Borchardt
Cannabis data company Headset secured $12.1 million in funding in a Series A round of financing. The company, launched in 2015 by the trio that co-founded Leafly, was able to raise the capital from another equally top-notch group of cannabis investors that included Poseidon Asset Management and AFI Capital Partners and Canopy Rivers Inc. (TSXV: RIV).
“Each one of our investors brings invaluable industry knowledge and a strong network of portfolio companies that enable us to collaborate in all new ways,” said Cy Scott, CEO, and Co-founder of Headset. “The new capital will fuel future growth, new market expansion, and enhanced product development, continuing to ensure our leadership position within the cannabis industry.”
Headset said that the money would be used to improve current products and services; expanding the company’s offerings to additional U.S. states and international markets, and support Headset’s partnerships and strategic alliances. It will also help the company serve new customers from the consumer packaged goods, beverage/alcohol, and financial industries, who are taking an increased interest in cannabis.
As a result of the investment, Emily Paxhia of Poseidon and Nico Richardson of AFI will be joining Headset’s board of directors. “As investors, we see the need for data to inform investment and M&A strategies,” said Emily Paxhia, Managing Director of Poseidon. “Headset is already tracking billions of dollars of transactions both in the US and Canada. This successful Series A raise will drive market penetration and depth of technological development.”
Headset is one of the few companies in the cannabis industry that can turn retail sales data into real-time market insights, and helping illuminate emerging trends in this fast rapidly developing industry. For example, producers can quickly learn which specific products are the top-selling ones in a market. The brands can then either brag about their leadership in sales or if they aren’t leaders, take notes from the companies that are.
The data from Headset has shown that in different locations cannabis consumers tend to have different preferences. Mr. Moxie’s Mints may be big sellers in Seattle, while Wana Brands Gummies might be the edible of choice in Colorado.
Narbe Alexandrian, VP Business Development of Canopy Rivers, concurred: “We believe that Headset’s retail intelligence platform will revolutionize the way data is used in the cannabis industry. As the cannabis market matures, data is becoming central to competitive success. It is increasingly important to understand key trends, competition, buying shifts and target demographics in real-time.”
Nico Richardson, Managing Director of AFI, noted that data is key to success in any industry, and praised Headset for delivering the most dynamic and comprehensive analytics to the cannabis industry. “We are excited to invest in a team that has built the industry’s leading data analytics and business insights platform. We look forward to supporting Headset as they expand into new markets with evolving products.”
