Visionstate Corp. Makes Strategic Investment in Freedom Cannabis Inc.
EDMONTON, ALBERTA – Visionstate™ Corp. (TSX-V:VIS) (“Visionstate”) is pleased to announce it has made a strategic investment in Alberta-based Freedom Cannabis Inc. (“Freedom Cannabis”) in a round of seed funding. The investment into Freedom Cannabis was made on the basis of synergies that exist between the businesses with respect to potential sensor development for monitoring production processes and opportunities to leverage solar powered backyard greenhouses for the home growing market through Visionstate’s investment in Exceed Solar Inc.
The Cannabis Act was recently passed in the Canadian Senate, with production and use expected to become legal on October 17th 2018. “As the cannabis industry emerges in Canada, we see tremendous opportunity in partnering with Freedom Cannabis,” says Visionstate Corp. CEO John Putters, “particularly for integrating our IoT connected sensors and solar applications into the production process.”
Visionstate Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Visionstate Corp., is an Internet of Things (IoT) company that specializes in data collection and analytics through sensor data. The Company’s core product, WANDA™, is an IoT touch-screen solution that collects information on cleaning activities, monitors supply inventories, collects foot-traffic data using people sensors and provides detailed analytics, with a reporting dashboard that enables data-driven operational decisions.
“The cannabis industry offers huge potential for sensor applications, particularly in monitoring and quality control,” Putters explains. “Our relationship with Freedom Cannabis provides the opportunity to enter this potentially lucrative market.”
Established in 2016, Freedom Cannabis Inc. (www.freedomcannabis.ca) is a private, seed-to-sale cannabis company currently in the application process with Health Canada to become a licensed producer. They are completing the first phase of their growing operations of approximately 73,000 square feet in Acheson, Alberta and have assembled a local team of experts and experienced professionals to build one of the world’s leading cannabis companies.
“We are excited about working with Visionstate and the transformative possibilities of applying IoT technology to our processes,” says Julie Potestio, President and Co-founder of Freedom Cannabis. “Exceed Solar brings a lot of value with their sustainable greenhouses too; we see their Sol Spaces as a natural fit with what we do.”
The appeal of Visionstate’s WANDA IoT solution is based on its ability to provide valuable data to management at large public buildings including hospitals, shopping centres, arenas, casinos, convention centres and airports. This information is used to assess performance and empowers management to make decisions that can optimize operations and reduce costs. By leveraging existing WANDA IoT technology, Visionstate plans to develop similar real-time monitoring through its partnership with Freedom Cannabis.
Similarly, synergistic opportunities are expected with Exceed Solar Inc. (“Exceed Solar”) (www.exceedsolar.com), a privately-held company in which Visionstate is an investor. Exceed Solar specializes in solar applications including backyard garden suites and greenhouses that are powered by renewable energy and branded under the name “Sol Spaces.” Cutting edge technology is leveraged in building materials and each Sol Space is energy audited to maximize efficiency. The product is scalable from smaller garden suites to larger spaces suitable for recreational properties and larger living environments. Exceed Solar is currently developing a smaller, secure, solar-powered backyard greenhouse that caters to the home growing market for cannabis.
“We see tremendous opportunity with backyard solar applications,” states Exceed Solar cofounder Stanton Pawchuk. “To cultivate cannabis in their backyard, home growers should have a secure environment and need access to power. Our solar greenhouses offer both, and with the bonus of being powered by renewable solar energy. It is a strategic business decision to work with companies like Freedom Cannabis as we bring our greenhouse product to market.”
