Which VCs invest in cannabis technology startups?

Yes. If by “cannabis technology” you mean software, marketplaces, fintech, compliance, POS, data, logistics, cultivation tech, and other ancillary businesses—not just cannabis cultivation/brands—there are several VCs with demonstrated activity.

Cannabis-focused VCs

• Casa Verde Capital — One of the most relevant dedicated funds for cannabis tech. Its portfolio includes Dutchie (e-commerce/POS), LeafLink (B2B marketplace), Metrc (regulatory traceability), and Vangst (staffing). Its stated interests include software and healthcare as well as cannabis.
• Poseidon Asset Management — Particularly relevant for early-stage cannabis technology. Its Garden Fund describes itself as a pre-Series-A VC fund investing in technology as well as licensed cannabis businesses, with a U.S. focus.
• Phyto Partners — Cannabis-focused investor with activity across cannabis, software, advertising and related technology. Current investor databases show investments ranging from Seed through Series C.
• Gron Ventures — Cannabis-focused VC that has participated in cannabis technology deals, including Dutchie.
• Arcview — A broader cannabis investment ecosystem rather than a conventional single-stage VC. It has invested in/featured technology businesses and maintains capital-raising programs for cannabis companies.

Mainstream VCs that have backed cannabis tech

A cannabis startup doesn't necessarily need to approach only cannabis-specific funds. Dutchie, for example, has attracted:

• Tiger Global
• Thrive Capital
• Dragoneer
• DFJ Growth
• D1 Capital Partners
• Glynn Capital
• Willoughby Capital
• Park West Asset Management

alongside Casa Verde and Gron Ventures.

That's useful evidence that institutional software/consumer/internet investors will fund cannabis technology when the business looks like a scalable technology company, rather than simply a cannabis operator.

If you're fundraising

For a cannabis SaaS / marketplace / fintech / compliance / AI / data startup, I'd build the investor list around the technology category as well as cannabis. Current databases show Casa Verde and Poseidon among the most active cannabis investors, with Poseidon particularly concentrated around Seed/Series A and software/SaaS.

If you tell me what your cannabis startup actually does, your stage (pre-seed/seed/A), and approximate raise, I can give you a much more targeted list of 20–30 VCs, their typical check sizes, relevant portfolio companies, partners to contact, and whether they're currently investing.

Several venture capital and private equity firms specialize in—or actively allocate heavily toward—cannabis technology, ancillary services, and plant-touching operators. Because direct plant-touching businesses in certain regions face unique federal banking/regulatory hurdles, many of these VCs focus strategically on the ancillary tech stack (e.g., SaaS, compliance, point-of-sale, B2B marketplaces, and supply chain logistics).

Prominent VCs and investment groups that target cannabis technology and innovation include:

• Casa Verde Capital : Co-founded by Snoop Dogg, Casa Verde is one of the preeminent venture capital funds focusing exclusively on the ancillary side of the cannabis industry. Their portfolio heavily features technology startups spanning B2B wholesale marketplaces, compliance and regulatory platforms, point-of-sale (POS) software, staffing platforms, and fintech.
• Altitude Investment Management : A New York-based venture capital manager targeting early-to-growth-stage cannabis ecosystem companies across North America and Europe. They invest broadly across tech, data, and infrastructure supporting the regulated supply chain.
• Entourage Effect Capital : Formerly known as Cresco Capital Partners, this private equity and venture firm invests across the entire cannabis landscape, including tech-enabled platforms, supply-chain logistics, and compliance solutions.
• Gotham Green Partners : A large-scale New York-based private equity and venture firm that deploys capital into global cannabis enterprises, infrastructure, and technology-driven operators.
• The Arcview Group : Operating originally as an elite angel investor network, Arcview has facilitated hundreds of millions of dollars into early-stage cannabis tech and ancillary companies through syndication and structured investment vehicles.
• Canopy : A mentorship-driven, seed-stage accelerator and investment program that has historically helped launch and fund numerous pioneering tech and software startups in the broader cannabis sector.

The strongest cannabis-tech VC targets are:

• Casa Verde Capital — cannabis-focused; invests across stages and has a portfolio heavy in software, compliance, data, payments, POS, and other ancillary tech.
• Poseidon Investment Management — particularly relevant for pre-Series A cannabis technology; investments include Adaviv and Dispense.
• Phyto Partners — cannabis-focused VC with significant software/technology exposure.
• CanopyBoulder — early-stage accelerator/investor focused on ancillary cannabis businesses, including technology.
• Entourage Effect Capital — cannabis-focused investor active across the ecosystem.
• Arcview — cannabis investment platform with experience financing cannabis technology companies such as Budbo.

For a software/SaaS cannabis startup, I'd prioritize Casa Verde, Poseidon, Phyto Partners, and CanopyBoulder. Current investor databases also rank Casa Verde, Poseidon, and Phyto among the most active U.S. cannabis VC investors.

Several prominent venture capital (VC) and private equity firms focus on or actively include cannabis technology and ancillary startups (such as B2B software, compliance platforms, supply chain tracking, e-commerce, and biotech) in their portfolios.

• Casa Verde Capital : Co-founded by Snoop Dogg, Casa Verde is one of the most prominent early-stage VC firms focused exclusively on the ancillary cannabis sector. Their portfolio heavily features cannabis tech, including e-commerce/POS solutions, compliance and fintech platforms, B2B marketplaces, and staffing networks like Vangst.
• Altitude Investment Management : A global VC fund targeting the legal cannabis value chain. They invest broadly across the supply chain, including data analytics, business intelligence, in-store digital marketing enterprise solutions, and cultivation technology.
• Entourage Effect Capital : A private equity and venture firm dedicated to investing in the cannabis ecosystem. They invest across multiple tiers of the industry, including tech-enabled ancillary businesses and brands.
• Gotham Green Partners : A New York-based private equity firm focused on investing globally in companies operating within the cannabis and hemp industries, providing capital to both plant-touching and tech-forward operations.
• The Arcview Group : Operating as an investor network, Arcview has historically connected high-net-worth and accredited investors with vetted early-stage cannabis tech and ancillary companies.
• Canna Angels : An angel investment firm focused on carefully vetting and advising executive leadership teams in early-stage cannabis startups, frequently reviewing technological and ancillary innovations.

Cannabis technology startups (software, SaaS, compliance, payments, cultivation tech, biotech, data platforms, marketplaces, and other “ancillary” cannabis businesses) are usually funded by cannabis-focused VCs, healthcare/agtech investors, and generalist early-stage funds willing to invest in regulated markets.

Here are some of the more active investors to know:

For cannabis technology specifically, the strongest fits are often:

Cannabis SaaS / compliance / ERP

• Poseidon Asset Management
• Phyto Partners
• Casa Verde Capital
• Silverleaf Venture Partners
• Delta Emerald Ventures These investors have backed or targeted software, SaaS, compliance, and operational technology companies.

Cultivation tech / agtech / automation

• Merida Capital Holdings
• Salveo Capital
• West Creek Investments
• Phyto Partners These are more aligned with cultivation systems, genetics, automation, supply-chain tools, and agricultural technology.

Healthcare / biotech / cannabinoid science

• Merida Capital Holdings
• AFI Capital Partners
• Casa Verde Capital
• HALLEY Venture Partners

Shizune Shizune### Payments, fintech, marketplaces, and infrastructure

• Casa Verde Capital
• Poseidon Asset Management
• Arcview Group
• Lerer Hippeau (when the company looks like a broader consumer/software play)

Shizune Shizune## Generalist VCs that may consider cannabis tech

Some traditional technology investors avoid “plant-touching” cannabis but may invest in software companies serving cannabis operators (especially if the product could expand into other regulated industries). Examples to explore:

• Y Combinator (selectively; depends heavily on business model and jurisdiction)
• Lerer Hippeau (has cannabis-related investments but is broader consumer/software focused)

A practical fundraising shortlist depends heavily on the startup type:

• Cannabis SaaS/compliance: Poseidon, Phyto, Casa Verde, Silverleaf, Delta Emerald
• AI/automation for cultivation: Phyto, Merida, Salveo
• Payments/fintech: Casa Verde, Arcview, general fintech VCs
• Consumer cannabis brands with tech moat: Casa Verde, Gotham Green, Subversive

If you share the startup category (e.g., AI cultivation, dispensary software, payments, biotech, consumer app, hardware) and stage (pre-seed, seed, Series A), I can narrow this to the most relevant 10–15 investors.

Casa Verde Capital, Gotham Green Partners , and Navy Capital are among the leading venture capital and private equity firms that actively invest in cannabis technology, ancillary services, and plant-touching operators.

Because federal illegality in the U.S. historically restricted traditional tech VCs from investing in plant-touching businesses, a specialized ecosystem of cannabis-focused venture funds emerged to back software, compliance, supply chain, biotech, and e-commerce infrastructure.

Active VCs in Cannabis Technology

Investing in cannabis technology and ancillary startups—such as compliance software, B2B marketplaces, point-of-sale (POS) systems, agtech, and biotech—requires navigating a mix of dedicated sector-specific venture funds and generalist VCs willing to back the space.

The primary venture capital firms and investment networks actively backing cannabis technology include:

• Casa Verde Capital : Widely recognized as the most prominent VC firm in the space. Co-founded and overseen by Karan Wadhera and entertainment icon Snoop Dogg, Casa Verde focuses heavily on early-stage, non-plant-touching ancillary businesses, including B2B wholesale marketplaces, compliance platforms, POS software, and financial tech infrastructure.
• Delta Emerald Ventures : A founder-focused, data-driven venture firm targeting early-stage companies across the cannabis, hemp, and ancillary technology ecosystem.
• Canna Angels : An angel investment network connecting accredited investors with emerging startups, ancillary technologies, and support services tailored to the legal cannabis sector.
• Generalist & Mainstream VCs : Prominent traditional venture funds like Founders Fund (which notably backed early delivery/logistics tech in the space) and accelerators like Techstars or 500 Global have selectively invested in cannabis-related software, delivery, and compliance infrastructure startups over various funding cycles.

Note: Because federal regulations in the U.S. and various global jurisdictions restrict direct handling of the plant, the vast majority of venture capital activity is channeled into "ancillary" technology—software, hardware, biotech, and data platforms—that supports the industry without touching the plant itself.

Yes. There’s a meaningful VC ecosystem around cannabis technology, particularly software, marketplaces, payments, compliance, data/analytics, cultivation tech, and other “ancillary” businesses that don’t directly sell cannabis.

VCs I’d put on the shortlist

The strongest dedicated-tech candidates are Casa Verde, Poseidon, Phyto, and Merida. Current investor databases rank Casa Verde, Poseidon and Phyto among the most active U.S. cannabis startup investors, with reported activity spanning Seed through Series B.

Particularly interesting examples

Casa Verde Capital is probably one of the first investors I'd investigate. It explicitly focuses on scalable, capital-efficient businesses across the cannabis ecosystem and says it can invest at all stages. Its stated interests include ancillary businesses rather than simply plant-touching companies.

Poseidon has a strong technology angle: its cannabis investments include software/SaaS companies, and it has participated in companies such as Flowhub, a cannabis retail/compliance technology platform.

Phyto Partners is another good fit for software and ancillary technology. Its investment history includes LeafLink, the cannabis wholesale-management marketplace.

Founders Fund is worth considering if the startup looks like a genuine venture-scale technology company rather than a conventional cannabis business. It led LeafLink's $40M Series C, which TechCrunch described as its largest technology investment in cannabis at the time.

Thrive Capital similarly invested in LeafLink and led its $35M Series B, reportedly its first marijuana investment.

If you're raising for a cannabis-tech startup

I'd segment the investor list according to the technology:

• B2B SaaS / ERP / compliance: Casa Verde, Poseidon, Phyto, Merida
• Marketplace / e-commerce: Casa Verde, Poseidon, L2 Ventures, Nosara, generalist marketplace VCs
• Payments / fintech: cannabis-specialist funds plus fintech VCs willing to touch the sector
• Cultivation / agtech: Merida, Poseidon, cannabis/agtech investors
• AI / data / analytics: Casa Verde + generalist software/AI VCs
• Biotech / cannabinoid science: Merida, Phyto and biotech-oriented funds
• Consumer tech / brands: Casa Verde, Poseidon, Entourage Effect

If you tell me what the startup actually does, its stage (pre-seed/seed/Series A), and how much you're raising, I can build you a target list of 20–30 specific VCs, ranked by fit, with partner names, check sizes, portfolio overlaps, and links to their investment/pitch pages.

The strongest dedicated-tech candidates are Casa Verde, Poseidon, Phyto, and Merida. Current investor databases rank Casa Verde, Poseidon and Phyto among the most active U.S. cannabis startup investors, with reported activity spanning Seed through Series B.

Particularly interesting examples

Casa Verde Capital is probably one of the first investors I'd investigate. It explicitly focuses on scalable, capital-efficient businesses across the cannabis ecosystem and says it can invest at all stages. Its stated interests include ancillary businesses rather than simply plant-touching companies.

Poseidon has a strong technology angle: its cannabis investments include software/SaaS companies, and it has participated in companies such as Flowhub, a cannabis retail/compliance technology platform.

Phyto Partners is another good fit for software and ancillary technology. Its investment history includes LeafLink, the cannabis wholesale-management marketplace.

Founders Fund is worth considering if the startup looks like a genuine venture-scale technology company rather than a conventional cannabis business. It led LeafLink's $40M Series C, which TechCrunch described as its largest technology investment in cannabis at the time.

Thrive Capital similarly invested in LeafLink and led its $35M Series B, reportedly its first marijuana investment.

If you're raising for a cannabis-tech startup

I'd segment the investor list according to the technology:

A robust ecosystem of venture capital (VC) firms specializes in or actively invests in cannabis technology, ancillary services, biotech, and software . Because federal regulations in the U.S. and various global jurisdictions limit direct investment in plant-touching operations, many of these VCs focus heavily on "ancillary" tech—B2B SaaS, compliance platforms, e-commerce, agtech, and supply chain logistics.

Prominent venture capital firms that invest in cannabis technology startups include:

• Casa Verde Capital — Co-founded by Calvin "Snoop Dogg" Broadus, this is one of the most prominent early-stage VC firms focused exclusively on the ancillary cannabis sector. Their portfolio features major tech infrastructure players like Dutchie, Metrc, Vangst , and Growlink.
• Phyto Partners — A private equity and VC fund focusing on early-stage companies operating in the cannabis ecosystem. They frequently back tech-enabled businesses spanning ad tech, API platforms, data analytics, and agricultural biotech.
• Altitude Investment Management — A U.S.-based global venture capital fund targeting the legal cannabis market, investing across tech, compliance, B2B marketplaces, and science-driven cannabis ventures.
• Entourage Effect Capital — A private equity and venture firm that invests across the cannabis value chain, including technology, logistics, branding, and life sciences.
• Gotham Green Partners — A large private equity/VC firm based in New York that deploys capital across various sectors of the global cannabis industry, including major infrastructure and scaling technologies.
• Mindset Capital — An active early-stage investor focusing on seed rounds and innovative consumer/tech products within the evolving cannabis market.
• The Arcview Group — Operating as a premier investment network and angel group connecting high-net-worth investors with vetted early-stage cannabis technology and ancillary startups.

Yes. If by “cannabis technology” you mean non-plant-touching startups—software, SaaS, compliance, payments/fintech, POS, ERP, data, logistics, hardware, cultivation tech, etc.—there are several investors worth targeting.

Strongest cannabis-tech VCs

• Casa Verde Capital — Probably the best-known dedicated cannabis VC. It invests across the cannabis value chain, with an emphasis on scalable, capital-efficient businesses, and can invest from early through later stages.
• Poseidon Asset Management — Particularly relevant for technology. Its Garden Fund explicitly targets technology and licensed operators, with a pre-Series A focus and a U.S.-centric strategy.
• Phyto Partners — A cannabis-focused VC with a meaningful software/technology component. Current investor databases put it among the three most active dedicated cannabis VCs alongside Casa Verde and Poseidon.
• Arcview Group / Arcview Collective Fund — More of a hybrid angel/venture ecosystem than a conventional VC. Its fund targets seed and early-stage cannabis companies, with typical investments of about $75K–$250K over the life of an investment.
• JourneyOne Ventures — Specifically launched a $10M fund focused on cannabis technology. It's an especially relevant name if your company is genuinely tech-first rather than a cannabis consumer brand.
• West Creek Investments — Invests across areas including device hardware, data analytics, financial technology and ancillary products, making it relevant to cannabis infrastructure startups.
• Merida Capital Partners — A larger cannabis-focused investor worth considering for infrastructure, ancillary businesses and companies beyond the earliest stage.
• Entourage Effect Capital — Another established cannabis investor with exposure beyond cultivation/retail, including cannabis infrastructure and ancillary businesses.

A useful shortlist by startup type

Current investor databases rank Casa Verde, Poseidon and Phyto Partners as the most active dedicated cannabis VC funds, with software/SaaS explicitly represented in their investment focus.

If you're actually raising money for a specific cannabis-tech startup, I can also build you a much more useful 20–30 investor target list, including VC, partner, typical check size, stage, relevant portfolio companies, geography, and whether they invest in plant-touching vs. ancillary tech.