Microsoft is entering the legal marijuana business.
The tech company is partnering with a startup that makes software for the growing legal cannabis industry. LA-based Kind Financial said that Microsoft will help it market its software to local and state government agencies that monitor marijuana growers or distributors for compliance with regulations governing pot production and sales.
Microsoft Corp is best known for making software for computers. But as PC sales have declined, the company has been building a “cloud computing” business that provides online services for big businesses and organizations, including software that runs in Microsoft’s data centers. Kind’s software will run on Microsoft’s “Azure Government” cloud, a network that provides online services for public agencies.
Marijuana sales aren’t legal under U.S. federal law, but states are taking the matter into their own hands: Colorado, Oregon and Washington have all legalised marijuana and a handful of others, including California, are voting to potentially do the same this fall.