John SchroyerDenver-based marijuana technology firm Growlink announced a $2 million capital raise to integrate artificial intelligence into its suite of services for cannabis farmers, with the financial help of Casa Verde Capital, the California-based investment firm co-founded by Snoop Dogg.
This is the first outside capital that 10-year-old Growlink has needed, the company said in a press release. It operates with a customer base of 2,200 cannabis growers spread across 35 countries, including many large U.S. multistate operators. Growlink specializes in climate control systems and cultivation software that cannabis companies use to optimize their crop yields.
Growlink CEO Ted Tanner said the cash injection will be “instrumental in accelerating our growth and expanding our capabilities.”
The company also will invest some of the money into enhancing its platform integration with other third-party systems; Growlink’s climate control systems already integrate with Agrowtek, Trolmaster, Pulse Grow and Aranet wireless sensors, according to the release.
That will mean “any hardware can connect to the Growlink cloud,” the company said, giving users access to its “control algorithms, cultivar blueprints and AI crop steering programs.”
Casa Verde CEO Karan Wadhera said Growlink has proven its value over the past decade and that the business “drives immediate ROI for underserviced cultivators and is a foundational component of any technology stack that prioritizes quality and efficiency.”
The capital raise comes at a time when investment dollars have been scarce for marijuana companies. Viridian Capital Advisors reported capital raises down by almost 40% last month year-over-year, but there have been some signs investors are cautiously returning to the cannabis sector.
