Tilt CEO Is Bullish on U.S. Cannabis, Expects Market to Reach $100 Billion
*By Chloe Aiello*
Tilt Holdings CEO Alex Coleman is bullish on U.S. cannabis ー and Tilt is positioning itself to have a presence all across the country to take full advantage of the shift from medical to recreational legalization as it happens.
"There's no question this will be the biggest market ー our internal numbers say probably $100 billion. The only variable in that is the time all these states go recreational and the price," Coleman told Cheddar on Thursday.
Tilt is an enterprise cannabis company focused on technology and infrastructure for the marijuana industry. The company sees revenue both from the cultivation and sales of cannabis, and from ancillary industries like software services. Tilt [reported on Thursday](https://www.nasdaq.com/press-release/tilt-holdings-reports-preliminary-consolidated-revenue-for-january-2019-and-fiscal-year-2018-20190214-00486) preliminary consolidated revenue of $18.3 million USD for January 2019 ー the first indication of the company's performance since it went public on the Canadian Securities Exchange in December.
Coleman said listing was a strategic maneuver to enable more acquisitions, but that he would like to see some appreciation in the company's estimated $750 million market cap before it makes more acquisitions or considers a move onto U.S. markets.Coleman did say, however, that a U.S. listing would be "ideal" and that the company would try to access the U.S. markets with its "substantial" ancillary revenue.
Tilt is also attempting to gain a foothold in U.S. states that have already legalized medical use to "capture the conversion" to recreational, Coleman said.
He thinks the opportunity to scale the market exists in those states, even if federal laws have not yet caught up to the state trend.
"It's interesting, everyone was discounting the industry based on the federal-state conflict, but that's really not the right way to look at it," said.
Aside from the U.S., Tilt also has its gaze trained on Europe, which is shaping up to be a promising marijuana market, especially following the [European Parliament's Wednesday vote](https://www.forbes.com/sites/javierhasse/2019/02/13/european-parliament-passes-cannabis-resolution-joins-who-in-supporting-medical-marijuana/#19ceb5f5fd5b) to encourage adoption of medical marijuana regulation in the EU.
But when it comes to the first G7 nation to legalize cannabis, Canada, Coleman said he's "not as bullish."
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/tilt-holdings-ceo-sees-europe-as-the-next-big-cannabis-market).
Wealthfront’s CFO Alan Iberman talks the $2.05B IPO and the major moment for robo banking as the company bets on AI, automation, and “self-driving money."
A rare magnum of Dom Pérignon Vintage 1961 champagne that was specially produced for the 1981 wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana has failed to sell during an auction. Danish auction house Bruun Rasmussen handled the bidding Thursday. The auction's house website lists the bottle as not sold. It was expected to fetch up to around $93,000. It is one of 12 bottles made to celebrate the royal wedding. Little was revealed about the seller. The auction house says the bids did not receive the desired minimum price.
The New York Times and President Donald Trump are fighting again. The news outlet said Wednesday it won't be deterred by Trump's “false and inflammatory language” from writing about the 79-year-old president's health. The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic recently, including an opinion column that said Trump is “starting to give President Joe Biden vibes.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do “FAKE” reports about his health and "we should do something about it.” The Republican president already has a pending lawsuit against the newspaper for its past reports on his finances.
OpenAI has appointed Slack CEO Denise Dresser as its first chief of revenue. Dresser will oversee global revenue strategy and help businesses integrate AI into daily operations. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently emphasized improving ChatGPT, which now has over 800 million weekly users. Despite its success, OpenAI faces competition from companies like Google and concerns about profitability. The company earns money from premium ChatGPT subscriptions but hasn't ventured into advertising. Altman had recently announced delays in developing new products like AI agents and a personal assistant.
President Donald Trump says he will allow Nvidia to sell its H200 computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to “approved customers” in China. Trump said Monday on his social media site that he had informed China’s leader Xi Jinping and “President Xi responded positively!” There had been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips into China as it could help them to compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities. But there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia.
