REUTERS/Blair Gable
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Happy Friday readers,
Since we’re off for Thanksgiving, we’re sending your favorite cannabis newsletter a little early this week.
This week, we listened in on a few earnings calls and talked to psychedelics company ATAI's CEO Florian Brand about the company's latest $125 million funding round — the largest funding round to date in the emerging psychedelics space. Brand told us what it was like raising in the midst of the pandemic as well as what he plans to do with the fresh capital.
We've also compiled lists of the top power players to watch in New Jersey and Arizona's newly legalized adult-use markets.
Hope everyone has an excellent and safe Thanksgiving!
-Jeremy & Yeji
Here's what we wrote about this week:
A major psychedelics company just landed a record sum of cash from VCs. The CEO told us how he raised the mega-round and why it's a sign psychedelics are going mainstream.
ATAI Life Sciences talked to Business Insider after closing its record $125 million funding round. The amount tops Compass' $80 million round, which closed earlier this year before the London-based company went public.
ATAI CEO Florian Brand told Business Insider that the company is focusing the funds on three main areas: ongoing clinical trials for psychedelics medications, adding more companies and therapies to "the ATAI ecosystem," and developing digital tools that will benefit current programs.
Meet the 13 power players shaping the future of New Jersey's potentially $1 billion market for recreational marijuana
Meet the 13 power players, from lawmakers to executives, shaping the future of New Jersey's cannabis industry. According to estimates, the state could be a $1 billion market in the next few years — and not to mention, a draw for consumers in New York City and Philadelphia.
Meet the top 11 power players shaping Arizona's new market for recreational marijuana, including executives, advocates, and regulators
Arizona's newly legalized adult-use market could reach $790 million in annual sales by 2024, according to Marijuana Business Daily. In this space, there are key names to watch as legal sales begin to roll out in the state. From company executives to attorneys to regulators to advocates, here are some of the top people to keep your eye on.
Earnings roundup
A few earnings this week ahead of the long weekend. Here are the highlights:
- Planet 13 reported revenue of $22.8 million and an adjusted EBITDA of $6.2 million, marking a comeback for the company after a tough few months because of COVID restrictions on tourism.
- Jushi Holdings reported a net loss of $30 million on $24.9 million of revenue, a 67% increase sequentially for Q3.
- Flower One reported preliminary Q3 revenues of $11.5 million.
Deals, launches, and IPOs
- Cannabis SPAC (special purpose acquisition company) Subversive Capital is buying Caliva, a California cannabis brand, and Left Coast Ventures to form TPCO Holding Corp, a combined company. Rapper and entrepreneur Jay-Z will become the newly-formed company's "Chief Visionary Officer." The deal includes a $36.5 million private placement.
- A Canadian cannabis vaporizer startup founded by former BlackBerry engineers is launching on Black Friday for $229.99.