Toronto-based Braingrid, which offers a solution to help cannabis producers measure growth, has raised $2.5 million in an effort to fuel its growth.
The company said it had raised from a group of investors but only named Quinsam Capital, a merchant bank based in Toronto, as one of the participants.
Braingrid offers sensors — called a Sentroller — for cannabis producers that monitor temperature, CO2 levels, light, and air quality. Users are notified through email so that they can keep track of their progress and areas of improvement. The platform is targeted to producers running large facilities.
“It’s clear that the cannabis market is growing very rapidly, so we can see a time when cannabis is in over-supply and growers will be scrambling to find their competitive advantage,” said CEO Michael Kadonoff.
The plan is to use the funding to fuel research and development, invest in its machine learning capabilities, and expand marketing. The company is also looking to expand its partnerships; in May 2017, the company partnered with Canadian compliance software company Ample Organics, which is working to bring Braingrid’s insights to its producers.
While the company initially built a solution targeting the general agriculture industry, it pivoted to the cannabis industry in 2016 since that area was already a legal environment. “We did this early enough that there was still a great deal of risk, but because we were able to set our foundation in advance, we’ve appropriately positioned Braingrid to deliver value within the rapidly-growing cannabis industry,” said Kadonoff.
The company is working to go public on the Canadian Securities Exchange in the next 90 days. “It has been a great advantage starting our business in Canada because we are seen as a mature partner in the space,” said Kadonoff. “We have experience in a federally legalized and regulated marketplace, which is seen as an asset in countries like the US.”