- Business Insider identified the top investment firms in the US cannabis industry, based on how much they’ve invested in cannabis startups in 2020.
- We reached out to 25 cannabis-focused investment firms to estimate how much private equity funding they’ve poured into startups in 2020, and then narrowed down our list to the top 16 investment firms in the space
- In total, the firms listed here have invested around $315 million into the space over this past year, according to what the figures they gave us.
- This is the third edition of our list of the top investment firms in cannabis. You can read the lists for 2018 and 2019 here.
- Click here to check out the full list, available exclusively to BI Prime subscribers.
2020 was a big year for the cannabis industry. Frontrunners cleaned up their balance sheets and weaker players fell to the wayside as retail sales in the sector soared in during the pandemic.
Cannabis reform legislation – both on the state and federal levels in the US – found wins in the past few months. Five states voted to legalize cannabis in November, and the House passed the MORE Act, a bill to federally decriminalize cannabis, earlier this month.
Still, capital is constrained in the once red-hot cannabis sector – at least compared to the highs of 2018 and early 2019. But investors say that the less crowded field of startups makes investing easier, because the companies left standing are the same ones who withstood the headwinds over the past tough year and a half.
The biggest venture deals in cannabis in 2020 were driven by cannabis tech startups like Dutchie’s $35 million Series B and LeafLink’s $40 million Series C, as well as by private cannabis retailer Ascend Wellness Holding’s $68 million raise.
We asked private market data provider Pitchbook for the top US-based investors in cannabis startups. We also reached out to the firms that appeared on our 2019 list.
In total, we contacted 25 funds to ask how much they invested in cannabis startups in 2020. Based on their answers, we narrowed down our list to 16 top players.