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High on pot

PayPal owner Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund invests in cannabis startup Privateer

At a time when banks and other financial institutions are shying away from investing in the pot business, PayPal owner Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund has decided to back cannabis startup Privateer. Founded in 2011, Privateer is looking to make it big in the marijuana business with its weed ratings website Leafly and a Canadian medical cannabis farm. After previously receiving $22 million in funding, it is going into a series B round of funding worth $75 million. Though Founders Fund has not disclosed the amount, it is said to be a multi-million dollar participation in a stake that could run up against the federal government. Thiel, however, seems confident that the legal dispute will soon clear and this investment will go high.