We asked top VCs to pick 22 cannabis startups they think will blow up, raise fresh rounds, or IPO this year. Check out our exclusive lists here.

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Tilray cannabis marijuanaREUTERS/Rafael Marchante

Investors are pouring money into cannabis startups. Venture firms invested $881 million into cannabis startups in 2018, over double the amount raised a year prior, according to the data provider PitchBook.

That money has gone into two larger buckets: first, are consumer cannabis startups. These are companies that sell and distribute THC and CBD-containing products, like oils, skincare products, edibles, and even pre-rolled joints.

Second, are cannabis tech startups that provide the software and hardware to support the rapidly growing industry.

While the cannabis industry is still nascent — THC, the main psychoactive component of the plant isn’t federally legal in the US — startups are jockeying for market share in an attempt to dominate the early innings of what some Wall Street analysts say could be a $194 billion global industry by 2030.

To help get a sense of what the landscape looks like for startups in the very early innings of the cannabis industry, Business Insider asked 12 of the top cannabis VCs which startups to watch out for.

Subscribe to Business Insider Prime below to read the exclusive lists: 

While you’re here, read more of Business Insider’s cannabis industry coverage:

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Source: Business Insider – jberke@businessinsider.com (Jeremy Berke)

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