One of Chicago's largest marijuana upstarts just raised a huge new round of funding to grow its medical cannabis business.
Cresco Labs announced Friday that it has raised a $100 million Series D round of funding from private investors as it looks to bring its suite of cannabis products to more patients. Cresco, founded in 2013 by Charlie Bachtell and Joe Caltabiano, has now raised $185 million to date.
The new $100 million round is the second largest private funding round for a U.S. cannabis company ever, the company says.
"This capital raise demonstrates our commitment to growing our national footprint and establishing dominant brand presence in key markets across the country," Bachtell said in a news release.
Earlier this year Cresco announced plans to go public through a reverse takeover of a Canadian company, allowing it to go public without launching an IPO. Chicago-based Green Thumb Industries, also a marijuana startup, made a similar move and was listed on a Canadian stock exchange in June.
Cresco currently operates in six states and says it has the largest consumer footprint of any U.S.-based cannabis company. Cresco makes smokeable products as well as a line of edibles made by James Beard Award-winning chef Mindy Segal.
The medical marijuana industry in Illinois looks poised for growth as Gov. Bruce Rauner approved a law last month that allows medical marijuana to be prescribed in place of opioid painkillers. A new report recently found that medical cannabis use is up 83 percent in Illinois with more than 46,000 users.
