Google — the major online search engine, advertising platform, and creator of the Android mobile operating system — may be eyeing ways to involve itself with the cannabis industry, according to a report by Marijuana Business Daily‘s Omar Sacirbey.
Google recently reached out to LivWell, a Colorado-based medical and recreational cannabis enterprise currently operating 14 dispensaries around the state, to see how it could get involved. The contact was discussed by LivWell CEO John Lord at an event for Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO), a long-time supporter of legal cannabis. Lord said that Google contacted him shortly following last month’s major partnership announcement between cannabis software company KIND Financial and Microsoft. The event was hosted by Dixie, an infused edibles producer.
The inquiry was confirmed by LivWell spokesman Matthew Givner in an email to Marijuana Business Daily, who said that the tech giant was interested in learning “about the industry’s needs and how Google could potentially work with us to address them. Beyond that, there has been no communication.”
It’s unclear why Google contacted LivWell specifically and whether or not Google has contacted other cannabis companies. In either case, it’s likely the first time a major U.S. corporation has expressed interest in working with companies directly involved in the production and distribution of cannabis, which remains a federally illegal substance.