The Future of Marijuana Apps

With technology advancing everyday it was only  a matter of time before it found its way into the marijuana industry. For weed startups it is pretty much unheard of for the Series A funding round to be as high as $10 million. Eaze, a marijuana app that provides a service that connects medical marijuana patients with cannabis shops, has obtained a major first round funding most investors have been scared to embrace. It’s good news for Eaze and any competition that would like to get involved with creating technology products that are catered towards cannabis. “It signals that technology services can be successful service the cannabis category,” stated Eaze CEO and founder Keith McCarty. “It also signals that regulatory landscapes are loosening up, and venture capitalists see the broader market continuing in that direction.”Last July was the perfect timing for the app to launch, McCarthy stated.It is said that Eaze is the “Uber” for new weed ventures in the market and has been copied by at least seven different companies, only some of which have even launched. These companies provide a similar service by allowing patients to order on demand buds from local pot shops as well as verify marijuana patients. They also have their own team of delivery drivers.Investments in pot related businesses typically have been limited to what is known as angel investors as well as other high wealth individuals. Many startups find it to be an obstacle for bigger investors.  Traditional venture firms, more times than not, are restricted by their limited partners on ventures like cannabis.“I wish I was more strategic — I think I just got lucky,” he said. “In terms of timing, if I had a crystal ball last year I’m not sure I could have done it any better.”There have been some recent alterations that possibly have assuaged some investors concerns. Colorado and Washington have initiated with full legalization. Cofounder of PayPal and billionaire investor Peter Thiel made his footprint in a pro-weed investment camp when his Founders Fund invested in a $75 million round for Privateer Holdings, a holding company for cannabis-related businesses. “The six months’ difference between when we raised seed to now — the investor sentiment has changed a lot,” said Eaze spokeswoman Caroline Vespi. “A lot of it has to do with the Peter Thiel announcement. It’s okay to talk about funding a weed startup,whereas six months ago it was a little dicey.”DCM Ventures leads the round, and other investors include Fresh VC, 500 Startups and International hip hop star Snoop Dogg’s new marijuana fund Casa Verde Capital, according to Quartz.DMC’s David Chao stated he’s under the impression that the firm stands to profit its willingness to take a leap of faith with companies like Eaze, “Historically, DCM Ventures has been very open-minded,” Chao stated. “We were one of the very first to go to mainland China when people thought it was a little risky. We’ve done deals like BitTorrent. We have a history of realizing, you know what? The world’s going to change.”