EXCLUSIVE: Cannabis SaaS Platform Driving Industry Innovation Raises $2M In Seed Round

Kiefa, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform focused on cannabis said on Friday that it has raised $2 million in its seed round. Bienville spearheaded the funding round, while Alaris also contributed.

Kiefa’s primary objective is to provide cultivators with the necessary tools to produce cannabis in a streamlined manner. It was founded in June 2022 in New York by Peter Heidrich and Joe Giunti. Their first partner was Komplyd, now part of Green Check Verified, a fintech provider of compliant cannabis banking solutions and business services.

What’s In It For Cannabis Cultivators?

Michael Towey of Good Day Farm explained how cannabis operators can benefit from the Kiefa platform, which uses cloud-based technology, accessible from anywhere.

"Kiefa is creating a system that will allow operators in every stratification to have better visibility and control over their crop management," Towey said.

See also: 4 Ways To Optimize Your SaaS Business In Cannabis And Beyond

Moreover, early adopters are saving time planning crops, forecasting yields, and managing their labor.

Some of the features of Kiefa’s management and analytics platform include:

• Task management and automated scheduling
• Production tracking and forecasting
• Strain and COA analysis
• SOP and document management
• Labor and consumable tracking
• IPM logging and response plans
• Reporting

Heidrich, who also serves as CEO of Kiefa, shed light on how his management and analytics platform addresses the many challenges cultivators face in terms of crop management.

“Cannabis presents many phenotypes that need to be treated differently, whether it's the time they spend in vegetative states or how often they should be trimmed, and that is hard to manage in traditional ag-tech platforms,” Heidrich exclusively told Benzinga. “Forecasting results and timing of harvests can be tricky, and keeping internal or external partners informed is important to drive efficiency in manufacturing, distribution, etc.”

Heidrich sees the complexity of cannabis regulation as an opportunity for his business to thrive.

"The cannabis industry is complex due to the regulatory environment and fragmented supply chain," Heidrich said. "We see an opportunity to build cutting-edge solutions for the producers at the top of the chain, and drive better outcomes for all stakeholders that rely on the plant."

What’s Next

Kiefa plans to use this seed funding to continue building its engineering and go-to-market teams.

“We are monitoring opportunities to connect with other systems in the supply chain, which could include wholesale platforms, ERP systems, and Hardware solutions,” Heidrich said.

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