Chicago-based Salveo Capital has made its first round of cannabis-related investments, according to a recent Crain’s report. Two ancillary companies — Headset and Front Range Biosciences — are set to receive large infusions of cash from Salveo Capital, an investment firm founded in 2015 by lawyer Alex Thiersch.
According to March media reports, Salveo’s initial goal was to raise $25 million to use for cannabis-specific investments, but Salveo managing partner Jeff Howard declined to comment on the total amount Salveo has raised. And though the firm’s first two investments went to companies ancillary to the legalized cannabis industry, Howard indicated in the report that Salveo will consider future investments in “touch-the-plant” companies.
Headset is a Seattle-based cannabis analytics firm that currently has two offerings: market research data that tracks the performance of popular brands and products in the industry; and software that connects the different point of sale systems used by retailers and dispensaries, keeps track of their inventory, and monitors in-house sales trends.
Between Salveo’s investment and further injections by Hypur Ventures and Poseidon Asset Management, Headset has reportedly raised $2.5 million in investments. According to Headset’s CEO and co-founder Cy Scott, the new funds from Salveo will go towards developing the company’s third product offering.
Front Range Biosciences is a Lafayette, Colorado-based cannabis biotechnology company that develops technology for producing healthier cannabis strains; their goal is to prevent diseased cannabis crops, which should ultimately reduce legal growers’ reliance on potentially dangerous pesticides. The company plans to use Salveo’s investment to purchase new equipment and hire more staff, though Front Range’s co-founder and CEO Jon Vaught has said that the company is in talks to receive more funds from additional investors.
In total, Salveo has announced plans to fund as many as 15 startups in the cannabis sector, whose focuses are likely to include cannabis finance, agriculture, software, and more.