Hunt Valley-based Brytemap Inc. is aiming to become a significant competitor among cannabis industry software providers, and will use some new equity financing to grow its footprint across several U.S. markets this year.
Brytemap recently secured about $700,000 in equity funding, according to documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company is previously backed by $1.5 million in seed funding, raised in 2019, and CEO Bryan Lopez said this most recent infusion will help sustain the company through the next several months of growth before it launches a much larger Series B round later this year.
Brytemap currently markets a pair of technologies to companies operating in the cannabis industry. One is a point-of-sale software platform for dispensaries, called GreenR, that also includes features enabling pre-orders, communications and marketing, inventory management and automated compliance reporting for METRC (Marijuana Enforcement, Tracking Reporting and Compliance Program), a supply chain tracking system used in many states with legal cannabis markets.
Lopez said despite the challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic in the last year, Brytemap managed to grow its revenue by 240% and expanded its footprint from about four states with legal cannabis markets to 10. This year, Brytemap is targeting much more substantial growth.
"We want to grow the customer base, keep costs down and drive to profitability," Lopez said. "Our whole goal this year is to expand, expand, expand."
GreenR sales represent about 70% of Brytemap's business right now, Lopez said. Among the new products the company will roll out this year is an optional added feature for electronic payment, he said.
Brytemap has "dozens" of customers today, including local retailers like PureLife Wellness, ReLeaf Shop and Blair Wellness Center, and Lopez said he hopes to achieve customer growth of between five and six times. To do that, Brytemap will use its recently raised funding to invest in sales and marketing. Lopez said the funds will also support the development of some new products the company plans to release in the second half of this year.
Brytemap's other technology, called Scout, is a METRC-integrated radio-frequency identification, or RFID, platform for cannabis manufacturers that allows them to closely track and control inventory or perform audits in seconds.
The company will focus this year on expanding its presence throughout the roughly 15 states and jurisdictions that use the METRC system before it pursues other new market opportunities, Lopez said.
Lopez acknowledged that Brytemap is looking to gain a larger foothold in a space that includes some daunting competitors, the likes of which include Dutchie, a firm that achieved a $1.7 billion valuation after recently raising a $200 million Series C round and acquiring two other cannabis software players, Greenbits and LeafLogix. He believes five-year-old Brytemap's advantage is all the time his company has spent on making its tech as uncomplicated and all-inclusive as possible, so that cannabis firms do not have to continue paying for and trying to work with several different technologies.
"I believe we’re ahead of the game with our tech, but now we have to focus on trying to go out to new businesses and gaining market share," Lopez said.
