Hound Labs Inc., creator of the world’s first dual marijuana and alcohol breathalyzer, announced the closing of a $30 million Series D financing round to accelerate manufacturing and commercial availability.
Intrinsic Capital Partners, which funds life science and technology-focused businesses in the emerging cannabis industry, led the round.
The announcement arrives on the heels of peer-reviewed research from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) that validates breath as a viable medium for measuring marijuana use within three hours of smoking.
Additional investors include NFP Ventures – the investment arm of one of the largest U.S. insurance brokers – and Main Street Advisors, as well as existing investors Icon Ventures and Benchmark.
“Legalization of marijuana is disrupting multiple facets of society and creating a unique need for a technology that helps employers and law enforcement agencies detect recent marijuana use (within two to three hours of smoking), but doesn’t penalize people who legally and responsibly use marijuana,” stated Howard Goodwin, partner at Intrinsic Capital Partners.
“With commercial production of its marijuana breathalyzer already under way, Hound Labs is optimally positioned to meet the pent-up demand for the only tool that measures recent marijuana use without identifying someone who legally consumed marijuana the prior night or last weekend.”
Recently published results of a second clinical trial using Hound Labs’ breath technology validate that breath testing is a viable methodology to determine marijuana use.
“With the publication of clinical study results validating breath as the new frontier for testing recent use of THC, investors can see the tremendous value that Hound Labs will bring to the market with its first-of-its-kind technology,” said Dr. Mike Lynn, CEO and co-founder of Hound Labs. “We are excited to usher in a new era of more meaningful and fair drug testing now that marijuana is both medically and recreationally available to so many people.”
