Microsoft may be the first major technology company to dip its toes into the legalised marijuana business.
The software giant has partnered with Los Angeles startup Kind, which develops software for monitoring the supply chain for commercial sales of legalised marijuana in the USA.
Kind’s 'Agrisoft Seed to Sale for Government' platform allows regulatory agencies to monitor cannabis compliance by analysing critical data through the business lifecycle, including plant management, point-of-sale transactions and financial reporting.
As part of the partnership, Kind’s software will run in Microsoft’s Azure Government cloud as part of the vendor’s newly created Microsoft Health and Human Services Pod for Managed Service Providers business.
Microsoft’s government sales team will also help Kind pitch for government compliance contracts.
“The goal of this relationship is to leverage each company's resources to provide state, county, and municipalities with purpose built solutions for track and trace ('seed to sale' in the cannabis industry) technology,” Kind said in a statement.
Microsoft executive director of state and local government solutions Kimberly Nelson said it was an easy decision to align with Kind’s technology.
“Kind agreed that Azure Government is the only cloud platform designed to meet government standards for the closely regulated cannabis compliance programs and we look forward to working together to help our government customers launch successful regulatory programs," said Nelson.
Recreational marijuana use is legal in four states in the USA, and medical use is allowed in a further thirteen states.
Microsoft is one of the first big-name companies taking a risk to legitimise the industry, according to The New York Times.
The legalisation of marijuana in the USA has led to numerous startups attempting to claim a stake in the market, which is expected to reach US$25 billion if California legalises recreational use.
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