Chicago-based Fyllo has raised $16 million in seed round financing, the highest ever among Midwest startups, giving it a strong start in its effort to become a leading provider of cannabis-compliant advertising and analytics for the fast-developing cannabis industry.
The funding is led by JW Asset Management and Canadian-based K2 & Associates, with other investors also making commitments. JW Asset Management is known as an early-stage investor behind several companies in the cannabis space, including TerrAscend and Canopy Rivers, which are also based in Canada. Jason Klarreich, managing director of JW Asset Management, will assume a seat on Fyllo's board of directors.
Fyllo intends to use its initial funds to expand its technology platforms and add personnel to meet operational needs. In addition to its Chicago headquarters, Fyllo has offices in Los Angeles, Denver, New York, Toronto and Tel Aviv, with expansion planned for Las Vegas, Phoenix and Cleveland. The company anticipates more than doubling its staff in the next several months.
"Fyllo has made a running start by assembling a team of executives that is highly adept at early-stage growth," Fyllo Founder and CEO Chad Bronstein said in a statement. "We're confident that our intellectual property, technology stack, and go-to-market strategy will result in exceptional value for cannabis brands and mainstream publishers alike."
In addition to Bronstein, Fyllo's executive team includes: Brent Skoda, founder and chairman; Aristotle Loumis, co-founder and chief innovation officer; Michael Chock, co-founder and COO; Erik Shani, co-founder and chief product officer; Conrad Lisco, chief marketing officer; and Nicole Cosby, chief data and compliance officer.
Through its proprietary technologies, Fyllo enables online publishers and cannabis brands to meet compliance requirements on a large scale. Powered by its data and analytics engine CannaBrain™, the company supports data analytics, ad campaign management, measurement/reporting, and a range of creative management services intended to foster better brand targeting and reach across all devices and channels. Endemic and non-endemic publishers can also use the company's services to create and monetize data and inventory that is compliant with cannabis regulations on a state-by-state and market-by-market basis.
