Microsoft Partners With KIND Financial for Marijuana 'Seed-to-Sale' Tracking

Software behemoth Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) is getting into the legal cannabis industry through a partnership with startup firm KIND Financial that will be known as KIND Government Solutions. According to a press release from KIND, the smaller company will join a newly created Microsoft Health and Human Services pod for managed service providers with a goal of leveraging both companies’ resources to provide state and local governments with purpose-built solutions for track-and-trace technology.

In the cannabis industry, track-and-trace is known as “seed-to-sale” and KIND’s Agrisoft Seed to Sale for Government is a platform for governments and regulatory agencies to regulate and monitor all aspects of cannabis compliance. The platform includes the tools government agencies need to monitor and regulate all aspects of the cannabis business life-cycle, including plant management, point-of-sale transactions and financial reporting.

KIND Financial founder and CEO David Dinenberg said:

No one can predict the future of cannabis legalization, however, it is clear that legalized cannabis will always be subject to strict oversight and regulations similar to alcohol and tobacco; and, KIND is proud to offer governments and regulatory agencies the tools and technology to monitor cannabis compliance. I am delighted that Microsoft supports KIND’s mission to build the backbone for cannabis compliance.

Matt D. Cook, formerly senior leader of Colorado’s Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division and author of the state’s groundbreaking medical marijuana laws and regulations, who will serve as KIND’s Special Advisor on Government Matters added:

As a regulatory expert in the legal cannabis industry, I have chosen KIND Government Solutions as my preferred choice for track and trace solutions. In my opinion, their technology offers the most advanced software solution available and it provides government with critical tools to ensure transparency and accountability, which is imperative for government agencies managing a successful cannabis program.

The cannabis tracking program will be offered on Microsoft’s Azure Government cloud platform, which a KIND executive stated is the “only cloud platform designed to meet government standards for the closely regulated cannabis compliance programs.”