According to a recent study by New Frontier Data, 43% of the U.S. adult population will reside in the 18 states that have or are expected to have legalized recreational marijuana by 2022.
To keep up with the rising demand, the cannabis industry has turned to technology solutions providers like Dutchie and Weedmaps to handle the estimated $40 billion of transactions expected to flood the market by 2025.
Related Article: Dutchie raises $200M for cannabis fulfillment, acquires LeafLogix and Greenbits
Those expected sales cannot occur without stocked shelves at recreational distributors, and with the company’s recent raise, the wholesale marketplace platform Nabis aims to revolutionize the way stores buy and track inventory.
Last week, the largest licensed cannabis wholesale company in California announced it has raised a $23 million Series B led by Liquid 2 Ventures, FJ Labs and Stanley Tang, co-founder of DoorDash (NYSE:DASH). Silverleaf Venture Partners and Artemis Growth Partners also participated in the round to support Nabis’ network of fulfillment centers, transportation providers and distribution centers within the cannabis industry. Nabis has raised a total of $33.4 million since 2018.
With over 100 brands, including NUG, Biscotti and Pabst Blue Ribbon, the company has built a diverse portfolio of products for dispensaries to order for their growing customer demand, with a network of transportation providers to offer delivery within 48 hours to any dispensary in California.
With the new funds, Nabis will explore expanding these services into the growing number of states that continue to legalize the federally controlled substance, eyeing states like Massachusetts and New Jersey.
“The rapidly legalizing cannabis market will be one of the first entirely new regulated supply chains to be built after the invention of the internet,” said Vince C. Ning, CEO and co-founder of Nabis, in a release. “Traditional distribution is dead, and we are enabling the cannabis brands and retailers of today to transact with the most modern technology tools to best serve the exponentially-growing demand for cannabis.”
Funding details: Nabis
| Funding amount | $23 million |
| Funding round | Series B |
| Lead investors | Liquid 2 Ventures, FJ Labs and Stanley Tang |
| Secondary investors | Artemis Growth Partners and Silverleaf Venture Partners |
| Business goals | Expand product solutions and states serviced |
| Total funding | $33.4 million |
Additionally, the company plans to expand on its licensed Nabis Marketplace by supporting value-added services to help sustain the 140% growth in volume from its current clients. These tools include Nabis Capital, a financial solution that includes invoice factoring with up to $100,000 in instant credit for suppliers, and its sales and marketing data analysis platform, Nabis Analytics.
As a full-service distributor of the products, including its newly acquired 46,000 square feet of dedicated warehouse space in Southern California, Nabis’ goal is to support no just the growing number of distributors, but the innovative brands that come with the newly legal product market.
“Our mission is to empower the world to discover cannabis by providing choice, access and innovation,” Ning said. “One of the ways we define success is through the number of quality brands that we can bring to market. With this new SoCal facility, we now have the infrastructure to support the growing demand for a diverse set of brands, truly democratizing the cannabis space.”
You may also like:
Cannabis logistics is smokin’ hot
Dutchie raises $200M for cannabis fulfillment, acquires LeafLogix and Greenbits