LeafLink Raises $40 Million Series C Led by Founders Fund
Latest investment solidifies the tech company’s sizable growth and significant impact within the rapidly growing cannabis industry
New York, NY (December 10, 2020) — LeafLink, a tech-enabled wholesale marketplace for the cannabis industry, announces today the close of a $40 million Series C investment round, led by Founders Fund. Additional participants include Thrive Capital, Nosara Capital and Lerer Hippeau. This latest round of investment brings the company’s venture funding to over $90 million and marks Founders Fund’s largest technology investment in the cannabis space.
With the latest round of funding, LeafLink will continue to accelerate growth beyond its current $3 Billion of annualized Gross Merchandise Value (GMV). The $40 million will be used to expand in current markets by bringing on new brands and retailers, as well as capitalizing on new markets that legalized cannabis following the 2020 election. LeafLink will also continue to expand its offerings around payments, delivery, and data & analytics.
This fundraising round is monumental for a technology company like LeafLink as we continue to define a space that shows no signs of slowing down.
Ryan G. Smith, Co-founder and CEO of LeafLink
We’re honored to partner with Founders Fund as we scale our marketplace technology across the growing cannabis industry. Our eyes are set on bringing efficiency and innovation to the supply chain and we’re excited for cannabis to serve as a model for more legacy industries in the future.
The cannabis industry has experienced rapid evolution in recent years, perpetuated by COVID-19 as lawmakers classified dispensaries and other cannabis operators as essential businesses during the pandemic. With increased demand for recreational and medical use, along with United Nations recent reclassification of cannabis and the recent U.S. house vote to decriminalize, the industry is now projected to be a $100 billion space by 2030.
We invested in LeafLink because the team is merging best practices from e-commerce marketplaces with B2B technology to streamline an entire industry’s supply chain and operations. We’re excited to make our largest investment in the cannabis space to date in LeafLink.
Napoleon Ta, Partner at Founders Fund
LeafLink has become a vital resource for cannabis businesses and has fueled substantial growth in the industry since its launch in 2016. In an industry fraught with ever-changing regulations, cannabis brands and distributors were relegated to traditional wholesale sales practices, making it difficult to scale and keep up with demand in a fast-growing market. By taking a tech-first approach to enabling supply chain liquidity through its e-commerce marketplace, LeafLink provides operational and financial infrastructure for brands, distributors, and retailers. The company estimates that 32% of U.S. wholesale cannabis orders flow through its marketplace.
About LeafLink
LeafLink is a tech-enabled wholesale marketplace for the cannabis industry that has revolutionized the way brands, distributors, and retailers manage their operations. LeafLink’s e-commerce marketplace approach has optimized and fueled the growth of the cannabis industry, creating new efficiencies into the wholesale buying process with supply-chain software and services. LeafLink’s marketplace manages over $3 billion in annual orders, making up an estimated 32% of U.S. wholesale cannabis commerce. Currently, LeafLink serves 27 markets across the U.S. and Canada with offices in New York City, Los Angeles, and Toronto. Backed by leading venture capital firms and strategic investors such as Founders Fund, Thrive Capital, Nosara Capital and Lerer Hippeau, LeafLink has raised more than $90 million to date. Learn more at https://leaflink.com/.
Source: Company
