Gates-way drug? Microsoft joint-s up with marijuana sales tracking company
Microsoft has paired up with Californian startup Kind Financial, which helps businesses and government agencies track the sale of legal marijuana.
Kind has launched a government solutions business after being selected by Microsoft to participate in its newly created health and human services division.
The firms are aiming to create technology to track and trace the cannabis industry from "seed to sale".
"Kind's strategic industry positioning, experienced team and top-notch-technology running in the Microsoft Azure Government cloud, made for an easy decision to align efforts," said Microsoft's Kimberly Nelson.
The technology the companies build will be used by government agencies in their regulation of the burgeoning legal marijuana industry. Cannabis has been legalised in 25 states in the US: earlier this year, figures suggested the country's weed business could be worth $44bn (£31bn) by 2020.
"No one can predict the future of cannabis legalisation, however, it is clear that legalised cannabis will always be subject to strict oversight and regulations similar to alcohol and tobacco; and, Kind is proud to offer governments and regulatory agencies the tools and technology to monitor cannabis compliance," said Kind founder and chief exec David Dinenberg.
Microsoft recently agreed to buy LinkedIn for $26.2bn (£18.5bn), in a deal that surprised the market and sent LinkedIn shares rocketing by 50 per cent.