BERKELEY, Calif., Nov. 16, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Jmîchaele Keller, President and CEO of Steep Hill, a cannabis science, technology and analytics company, announced today the formation of its incubation and venture investment company, Steep Hill Ventures. The company will focus exclusively on funding early stage companies that have the potential of "Advancing the Science of Cannabis," according to a press release.
Over the last twelve months, Steep Hill has experienced requests from early stage companies needing Steep Hill's expertise to validate their technology and provide Research & Development. Leveraging Steep Hill's leadership position and access to innovation, Steep Hill Ventures' vision is to become the leader of global innovation and to guide the next generation of entrepreneurs, that will push the boundaries of cannabis science.
In making this announcement, Mr. Keller expressed, "It is an exciting time to be leading the science of cannabis. globally. Numerous entrepreneurs present ideas to us on a regular basis and many have the potential for significant growth with cutting edge technologies that do not currently exist in the cannabis industry. We have already seen investment interest and look forward to evaluating these options for the benefit of the industry as a whole, as well as, Steep Hill and its stakeholders."
"Steep Hill can put its unique assets to work to provide investors a strong Return on Investment," Keller continued. "The global Steep Hill management team has domain expertise and a clear understanding of where the cannabis industry is headed. This perspective is supported by relationships with the scientific community and the company's unique "first-look" at scientific innovation. Portfolio companies will benefit from Steep Hill's rapidly expanding global footprint and brand halo in their individual pursuits of distribution and market acceptance."
Steep Hill Ventures has a target of making available $100M in equity funding to invest in early stage companies over the next year, providing financing and incubation from Seed through the Series A. Steep Hill also maintains a deep financial network to support follow-on investment and the commercial capabilities to have a significant impact on portfolio companies' success. This week Steep Hill executed its first Memo of Understanding with BioMediCan, Inc. a start-up focused on the research and development of high-throughput production of biosynthetic cannabinoids.
Steep Hill maintains a deep understanding of the analytics and the generic properties of cannabinoids and terpenes than any company on the planet. Since its inception in 2008, the company has been on the forefront of innovation, achieving numerous scientific accomplishments including:
• 1st Commercial Cannabis Analytical lab in the world, opened January of 2008
• 1st Cannabis Potency Test, June 2008
• 1st Microbial Safety Screen for Cannabis, October 2008
• 1st To identify a high-CBD strain in California medical marijuana supply, March 2009
• 1st First to introduce QuantaCann, an instant, remote Near Infrared Red potency test, March 2011
• 1st To discover high-THCV strain in California
• 1st Residual Solvent Test
• 1st Genetic Sex Test – GenKit, February 2015
• 1st DNA Based Microbial Tests for Cannabis
The combination of the #1 science company in the world and deep financial resources to fund innovation will incubate new companies that drive the cannabis industry forward providing investors with curated high potential return on their investment.