John SchroyerCapital fundraising across cannabis is still down year-over-year, according to ongoing market research by Viridian Capital Advisors, with 124 capital raises over the last 12 months (LTM), compared with 176 deals for the same period a year ago. But there has been at least one bright spot in the industry: Cannabis agriculture technology firms recorded a 400% increase in raises.
Another potential positive? The LTM dollar amount of capital raises across sectors is only down 0.7% year-over-year, to $2.12 billion from $2.13 billion, a signal that investor wariness may be beginning to level off.
In agriculture technology, Viridian reported that there were five capital raises secured in the past 12 months, for a combined value of $13 million, a major increase from the lone deal in the year before that, which was worth $1.6 million.
Every other sector across cannabis saw a decrease in the number of capital raises inked, Viridian reported.
At the other end of the spectrum, the biggest loser in the cannabis investment wheel was hemp, which drew just two capital raises in the past year, down from 11 the year prior, an 82% decline. The raises this year in hemp totaled just $4.5 million, down from $137.9 million the year before, Viridian reported.
The upshot is that the hemp trade continues “the pounding the sector has been taking as more states regulate and/or ban intoxicating hemp products,” Viridian wrote in an email to readers.
The largest number of overall capital raises in the past year were completed in the retail and cultivation sectors, in which the number of deals went down to 49 from 68 the year prior, but the value of the combined investments went up, to $1.2 billion from $1.1 billion.
The second most attractive sector was biotech and pharma, which saw 30 capital raises secured for a value of $185 million, down from 32 raises but again up in terms of overall value from $129 million. In third place was software and media, which secured 15 capital raises for a value of $78 million, down from 18 raises at a value of $131 million.
The only other sector that saw a value increase in capital raises was investments/M&A, where two deals worth $216 million were a noticeable uptick from the five deals worth $105 million the year prior.
All the other sectors tracked, including psychedelics, real estate, consumption devices, infused products and miscellaneous ancillary all saw decreases in both the number of capital raises and their dollar values, Viridian reported.
