KEY Investment Partners LLC (“KEY”) today announced the closing of its cannabis-focused venture fund (“The Fund”) with approximately $30 million in aggregate capital commitments.
KEY Investment Partners provides strategic capital to high-growth companies that are well positioned to develop the infrastructure of the cannabis industry. Leveraging KEY’s extensive network, cannabis industry expertise, and over 40 years of institutional experience in the private sector, The Fund has been designed to help cannabis companies accelerate their growth by delivering commercial opportunities and driving strategic initiatives.
Pete Karabas, Founding Partner at KEY, stated, “the cannabis industry continues to outperform growth projections and we believe KEY is well positioned to capitalize on the increased pace of both M&A activity and state-by-state legalization that we expect to see in 2022.”
When asked about KEY’s existing portfolio companies, KEY Founding Partner Tiby Erdely commented, “It’s a challenge to navigate the cannabis sector and we are proud to have partnered with some of the brightest operators in the industry. We are already seeing synergies across our portfolio and are excited to continue supporting our portfolio companies as they grow in the coming years.”
To date, KEY has made 11 investments across multiple sub-sectors of the cannabis industry, including market-leading companies such as: HERBL, a supply chain solutions and distribution company; Springbig, one of the largest cannabis-focused loyalty and marketing automation platforms; XS Financial, a direct lender that provides flexible leasing solutions to cannabis companies; and Open Book Extracts, a cannabinoid ingredient formulator and producer.
Regarding the future plans of the firm, KEY Founding Partner Jordan Youkilis stated that, “We’ve had the privilege to work with an incredible group of investors, strategic advisors, and management teams since we started the firm in 2018 – we couldn’t be more optimistic about the future of the cannabis industry and certainly plan to continue to support its growth in 2022 and beyond.”
