18 Emerging Cannabis Companies & Startups (2024)
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Legal sales of cannabis are projected to hit $53.5 billion in sales by 2027. Meanwhile, the US cannabis industry is scheduled to reach $40 billion in 2024.
As touched on in Crunchbase, many of the startups on our list are developing backend infrastructure and support systems as cannabis continues to be legalized in more states.
In fact, investors have dumped over $5.3B in cannabis startups since 2014, spread across 544 companies.
Read below for our 18 cannabis startups that are building out delivery, e-commerce, and IoT applications for the nascent but rapidly expanding universe of cannabis.
1. LeafLink
5-year search growth: 47%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2015
Location: New York, New York
Funding: $479M (Series D)
What they do: LeafLink connects retailers with cannabis brands through their wholesale management platform. Leaflink also matches more than 8,700 retailers with over 3,500 cannabis brands. The vision is to simplify the cannabis supply chain with streamlined communication and messaging features, up to the minute order statuses, and tools to make purchasing easy.
2. 3Chi
5-year search growth: 2,700%
Search growth status: Peaked
Year founded: 2018
Location: Carmel, Indiana
Funding: Undisclosed
What they do: 3Chi is a cannabis startup that specializes in producing Delta-8 THC products, a compound derived from hemp that is legal under federal law. Their products include gummies, tinctures, and vape cartridges, all of which are third-party tested for quality and purity. 3Chi is committed to educating consumers about the benefits and potential risks associated with Delta-8 THC, and has become a leader in this emerging market.
3. Binoid
5-year search growth: 1,820%
Search growth status: Exploding
Year founded: 2018
Location: Northridge, California
Funding: Undisclosed
What they do: Binoid is a cannabis organization that offers a variety of CBD and Delta-8 THC products, including gummies, tinctures, and vape cartridges. Their products are made with all-natural ingredients and are tested by third-party labs to ensure quality and safety. Binoid is committed to providing their customers with high-quality, effective products that promote wellness and relaxation.
4. Cann
5-year search growth: 5%
Search growth status: Peaked
Year founded: 2018
Location: Oakland, California
Funding: $32M (Series A)
What they do: Cann is a cannabis company produces a line of THC-infused sparkling beverages, designed to provide a consistent and reliable cannabis experience without the need for smoking or vaping. Their beverages are available in a range of flavors and are made with high-quality, all-natural ingredients. Cann is committed to promoting responsible and mindful cannabis use, and has become a popular choice for those seeking a discreet and convenient way to consume cannabis.
5. Tokyo Smoke
5-year search growth: 79%
Search growth status: Peaked
Year founded: 2015
Location: Toronto, Canada
Funding: $7.7M (Series B)
What they do: Tokyo Smoke combines cannabis with fashion, using their motto of “Coffee, Clothing, and Cannabis” to guide the company’s product development. Tokyo Smoke’s online shop generates various recommendations based on user preference so customers can easily select the correct strain or product for their taste. A wide range of apparel and accessories are part of the Tokyo Smoke vision of combining lifestyle and fashion with the world of cannabis.
6. Wurk
5-year search growth: 18%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2015
Location: Denver, Colorado
Funding: $23.6M (Series A)
What they do: Wurk is an HR SaaS company focused solely on the emerging cannabis market. The founder of Wurk, Keegan Peterson, produced the influential documentary Weed The People that explored how medical marijuana impacts everyday life for families. Wurks’ real value-add is helping cannabis companies navigate the 280E tax law that restricts cannabis banking and accounting in the United States, while still helping out with more straightforward tasks like HR management and payroll.
7. Stealth Monitoring
5-year search growth: 100%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2006
Location: Toronto, Canada
Funding: $5.3M (Undisclosed)
What they do: Stealth Monitoring provides video surveillance security solutions for cannabis operations. Some of their industry solutions include remote video monitoring, video analytics, and real-time surveillance. The Stealth Monitoring team monitors 80,000+ cameras daily, leading to over 50,000 deterred crimes each year.
8. Olla
5-year search growth: 29%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2019
Location: Seattle, Washington
Funding: Undisclosed
What they do: Aiming to be the WordPress of online cannabis stores, Olla provides a fully customizable interface that lets shops build their own bespoke websites without having to share valuable online real estate with another provider’s branding. Designed with a mobile-first mindset and open integrations with cannabis POS and CRM systems like FlowHub and Green Bits, Olla wants to simplify the process of digitally ordering cannabis for everyone. Retailers using Olla report an 88% order completion rate, a 5x increase in order volume, and 92% of customers ordering from their mobile devices.
9. Ardent Cannabis
5-year search growth: -50%
Search growth status: Peaked
Year founded: 2013
Location: Boston, Massachusetts
Funding: Undisclosed
What they do: Making cannabis products at home is often a dream of enthusiasts and frequent consumers of cannabis. Ardent’s singular offering is their decarboxylation machine that turns raw cannabis into an edible or consumable state right at home. They’ve branched out into their new Ardent FX that fuses the decarb process with baking, inside one complete unit. Opening up the edible creation process to at home enthusiasts creates an entirely new segment of cannabis entrepreneurs that don’t need expensive lab space or costly staff to create their own line of edible products.
10. Delta Extrax
5-year search growth: 4,765%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2014
Location: Palm Springs, California
Funding: Undisclosed
What they do: Delta Extrax specializes in producing Delta-8 THC products, such as gummies, tinctures, and vape cartridges. Their products are derived from hemp and are legal under federal law. Delta Extrax is committed to providing high-quality and safe products to their customers, and uses third-party testing to ensure their products are free of harmful contaminants.
11. Exhale Wellness
5-year search growth: 317%
Search growth status: Peaked
Year founded: 2020
Location: Los Angeles, California
Funding: Undisclosed
What they do: Exhale Wellness offers a range of CBD products, including tinctures, gummies, and topicals. Their products are made from high-quality, organically-grown hemp and are designed to promote relaxation and wellness. Exhale Wellness is committed to transparency and safety, and provides detailed information about their sourcing and manufacturing processes, as well as third-party lab testing results for all of their products.
12. Fyllo
5-year search growth: 25%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2019
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Funding: $98M (Series C)
What they do: The Fyllo Compliance Cloud gives cannabis companies the ability to stay on the right side of the law when it comes to digital advertising, messaging, and location-specific regulatory requirements. With heavy hitter cannabis clientele like Columbia Care, Grassroots, and Apothecanna, Fyllo has established a strong position as the frontrunner for cannabis ad planning and execution.
13. Eaze
5-year search growth: 732%
Search growth status: Peaked
Year founded: 2014
Location: San Francisco, California
Funding: $202.5M (Series D)
What they do: Think of Eaze as the Doordash or UberEats of cannabis. Eaze connects local cannabis dispensaries to clientele and then provides a secure, seamless delivery experience designed to benefit both the consumer and the vendor. Eaze was one of the earliest companies advertising cannabis delivery with ads posted on buses, billboards, and buildings around San Francisco.
Eaze has delivered over 7.8M orders, has 2M registered customers and is home to over 100 licensed brands.
14. Confident Cannabis
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2015
Location: Palo Alto, California
Funding: $15M (Series A)
What they do: Confident Cannabis claims to have the largest real-time database of legal cannabis statistics in the world. They also offer their software for cannabis testing labs to use. By testing for compounds like THC and CBD, dispensaries can share accurate product information with their customers and build followings for their brands by providing tailored advice based on what the customer is looking for.
15. FlowHub
5-year search growth: 105%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2015
Location: Denver, Colorado
Funding: $45.8M (Series Unknown)
What they do: Flowhub processes over $1B in cannabis sales annually through their complete point of sale platform. On top of processing sales, Flowhub also allows vendors to track compliance, manage inventory, and analyze business intelligence data from a single place. Their team is currently building out a suite of in-store apps and tools to make the retail buying process as seamless as possible for the customer.
16. Vertical Companies
5-year search growth: 22%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2014
Location: Agoura Hills, California
Funding: $58M (Series A)
What they do: Vertical Companies is a cannabis company that operates in several states in the US, including California, Arizona, and Ohio. They offer a range of cannabis products, including flower, edibles, and concentrates, under their various brands. Vertical Companies has a strong focus on sustainability and social responsibility, with a commitment to reducing their environmental impact and supporting the communities where they operate.
17. Naturecan
5-year search growth: 5,700%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2019
Location: Stockport, United Kingdom
Funding: $8.3M (Seed)
What they do: Naturecan is a CBD wellness brand that offers various products like CBD oils, gummies, skincare, and balm. All Naturecan products contain CBD Distillate Oil from organically grown hemp that's produced from a CO2 extraction method. Today, this startup operates in over 30 countries and expects to cross $22 million (£18 million) in revenue.
18. TRIP CBD
5-year search growth: 406%
Search growth status: Exploding
Year founded: 2017
Location: London, England
Funding: $22M (Series A)
What they do: TRIP is a leading UK-based CBD brand. This health and wellness company provides CBD-infused products, such as oils, drops, and drinks, to help regulate the body's endocannabinoid system and aid with stress, anxiety, sleep, inflammation, and pain. Videos related to TRIP on TikTok have over 4.2 million views and the brand has grown to 120,000+ Instagram followers.
Conclusion
Cannabis is undoubtedly one of the hottest industries in the United States.
With potential federal legislation legalizing cannabis, the upside is enormous to budding entrepreneurs and even larger established brands that are dipping their toes in the industry.
The startups on our list cover every inch of the cannabis industry, from software to organic CBD oils and beyond.
As millennials continue to take over a larger share of the economy worldwide, expect the cannabis industry’s growth to accelerate as old norms and laws are shed in favor of a demographic that’s much more open to regular cannabis usage.
