Staff
Online cannabis wholesale marketplace, LeafLink 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.
LeafLink has changed the way cannabis retailers work with product manufacturers. It used to be that dispensary owners would have to contact as many as 50 different companies to make orders and track shipments. Now they can do it online with an e-commerce marketplace. The company was launched in 2016 and since then has processed more than $1 billion in annualized orders through its marketplace. This means approximately 16% of all the wholesale cannabis orders are happening on LeafLink.
Proceeds To Be Used For Expansion
With the additional funding, LeafLink said it 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.
In addition to expanding the company’s core product and its footprint, LeafLink will be 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 company said that 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.
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,” said 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.”
