Bruce Linton is a big name in the cannabis industry. He helped build Canopy Growth (TSX: WEED) into what it is today. And while it may no longer be the top pot stock in the world now that many multistate operators in the U.S. are dwarfing the company's sales numbers, that's partly to due because it can't access the more lucrative U.S. pot market.
Linton was ultimately fired from Canopy Growth and then again from U.S.-based Vireo Health. However, he still has cannabis on his mind and last year launched Collective Growth (NASDAQ:CGRO), a special-purpose acquisition company. With a focus on the U.S. pot market, it could be a way for investors to get in on the next big cannabis company before it takes off.
Linton isn't focusing on just one area and previously stated that "the biggest disruption opportunity related to cannabis plants at large is to use the whole plant and hemp for what it can do. And there’s over 200 categories of things that you can disrupt."
In December, Collective Growth's stock soared after it announced it would be merging with Innoviz Technologies, which manufactures LiDAR sensors and makes perception software that is used in autonomous vehicles. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter, and when it does, the ticker symbol of the combined company will be "INVZ."
Prior to cannabis, Linton's background was in tech and so it's not an unnatural industry for him to get involved in.
But whether it's tech or cannabis exposure, or perhaps both, there's plenty of reasons for growth investors to keep an eye on Linton's latest project.
