An Israeli company that specializes in quality-control testing equipment and standards for medical cannabis is using a newly raised $1.3 million in investment capital to expand its business operations into the North American market.
Cannabi-Tech Ltd. did not specify in a press release where exactly in North America it will be setting up shop.
“We are on a mission to become the leader in the nascent North American market for medical marijuana testing, quality control and packaging systems, helping both producers and distributors provide patients with the level of stringent quality assurance we all expect from medical-grade products,” said Dr. Guy Setton, CEO and co-founder, in the release.
Cannabi-Tech offer patented optical testing and advanced imaging tools for the industry’s most accurate testing of cannabis flowers, along with integrated cloud database, sorting and labeling systems, traceable packaging, mobile apps, and more.
Setton teamed up with Cannabi-Tech’s chief scientific officer Oded Shoseyov of Hebrew University in Jerusalem to build and market their various products and services.
“Composition and potency of cannabis can finally be tested independently for each and every flower in a truly non-destructive manner within seconds,” said Shoseyov, a nanobiotechnology expert who has been featured on TED, authored more than 160 publications and holds dozens of patents. “This marks a major advancement in the efficiency, efficacy, and quality control for the exploding medical marijuana industry, and one that stands to benefit every supplier and every patient in this ecosystem.”
The seed round, initially reported in Q3 2016 following the initial investment by the Agrinnovation fund, managed by Dr. Ido Schechter and backed by Yissum, the technology transfer company of the Hebrew University, now includes a group of institutionally experienced investors. Daniel Furman, Cannabi-Tech’s new chairman and founder of Arba Finance, an investment banking boutique, brings a wealth of experience in industry, finance and agriculture. Pavel Ezekiev, who also joins as a director, is a founding partner of NEVEQ, the early stage venture capital fund backed by London-based EBRD and EU’s European Investment Fund.