Harvest 360 and Cognitive Harmony Technologies (CHT) have developed cannabis tech software to reduce the cost of a cannabis license application and barriers to enter the market.
CHT CEO Walter Moore is one of the main architects of the software in Illinois. He is leading the collaboration with Harvest 360 to bring these tools to market.
“We are excited to have Harvest 360 on board as the enabler to bring these tools to social equity applicants,” Moore said. “With Harvest focused on the market side, we can drive product development internally based on real market needs, creating an innovation feedback loop capable of bringing unprecedented accessibility to the cannabis industry.”
Developing Cannabis Tech
Harvest 360 has 50,000 pages of Standard Operating Procedures (SOP)s that encompass everything related to the application process. They can use their database of information to train computers and robots.
“This work is being integrated into a broader strategy established by Illinois Representative La Shawn Ford in Illinois to provide resources and assistance to social equity applicants and reduce the barriers of entry for communities most impacted by the war on drugs,” said David Serrano, Business Development Chief for BLDV, and leader of Harvest 360’s social equity efforts. “This is perhaps the most exciting development I have seen in the cannabis industry.”
Usually, it costs between $50,000 to $350,000 for the team of lawyers, architects, experts, technical writers, and chemists for a full vertical application. Five or six professionals are needed to put together an application. But Artificial Intelligence (AI) eliminates tedious, repetitive work they would have to do otherwise.
“Illinois will allow us to showcase this tech and we expect to then deploy in New Jersey, Arizona, and other emerging markets around the country and world,” Serrano said.
Last year Harvest 360, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Blue Diamond Ventures Inc. (OTC: BLDV) led the industry in assisting multiple social equity applicants to submit applications for the 75 new adult-use dispensaries offered in Illinois.
“These new tools will allow us to reduce the cost of the application process by close to 90%,” said Serrano. “This is a real game-changer.”
Licenses in the cannabis industry usually go to the large Multi-State Operators (MSOs) and in some markets, significant capital must be invested in advance to obtain a license, followed by even larger sums for build-out and compliance.
“In terms of social justice, I dreamed up a company that can help me where I was once in. Now it helps a lot of people like me,” Serrano said.
Typically, applying for a license is out of reach and expensive. Adding an exhibit in the application usually costs $7500 and there are multiple exhibits in the applications.
What previously took a day can be done in “30 seconds flat,” Serrano said.
Once complete, they view the cannabis tech printout. They easily can correct computer errors to make sure it is behaving properly. If Serrano rejects statements that were not relevant, the program can learn how to not repeat the error
“I’m training the computer every time I use it,” Serrano explained regarding the cannabis tech.
Scripting intelligence has been around for some time. They are simply taking and applying AI instruments already available to an extent.
Lawyers, consultants, doctors, architects will be able to access the cannabis tech software to make smart decisions for design protocols and work more efficiently and a lot less expensive. Obtaining a dispensary license has been especially difficult in New Jersey since so few have been given out thus far.
Track Record in the Industry
Harvest 360 has a track record in the space. They won one of the five medicals applications for limited medical cannabis licenses in Virginia for Dharma Pharma.
They represented Acreage Holdings, along with two dozen start-ups. Most recently, they won a license for a lab in Missouri.
Among the company’s founders, Serrano has Jersey roots. He was born in Jersey City and raised in Hoboken. He lived there for most of his life before moving to New York City. The new NJ Cannabis Business Association (NJCBA) President Ed DeVeaux is their Public Affairs Officer.
Serrano is a self-described son of the war on drugs, his father died when he was six during the heroin/crack epidemic.
The cannabis industry is one of the most rapidly growing areas of business development in the world. Along with hemp and CBD, there are many opportunities in the large market.
Harvest 360 CEO Todd Scattini moderated a panel discussion on Social Equity at the Cannabis Industrial Marketplace Virtual Trade show today and Serrano was scheduled to be on the panel.
