Competitive Edge: DeepCell Industries

April 15, 2021 | Jim Lane

You may recognize his name from Blue Marble Biomaterials, which converts organic biomass into renewable specialty chemicals, or as the former senior policy advisor to Washington State Governor Jay Inslee, but Kelly Ogilvie, DeepCell Industries’ CEO and Co-Founder has an interesting, and very personal, story to tell about DeepCell’s cannabis business and why he went this route.

In today’s Digest, the story and tech behind this company that has appeared on Netflix, their patented “Crystal Fusion” platform which infuses cannabinoid molecules in the crystal structures of sugar, salt, and other ingredients, why this is a game changer, and more.

Q: What was the reason for founding your organization – what was the open niche you saw that could be addressed with a new product or service? What was the problem, or gap, or opportunity?

I founded DeepCell after leaving the Governor’s Office in 2015 after seeing the opportunity in cannabis, and the personal struggle of my sister’s opioid addiction. She found CBD and it changed her life. I now operate a cannabis technology and product company.

Cannabis is a $340B global market today, and that is WITH global prohibition. We believe cannabis is a $1.5T market by 2030.

Global cannabis prohibition is ending, and along with it opportunities in medicine, recreation, materials (hemp fiber, etc.), and new capital formation through innovation and technology development.

Q: Tell us about your organization. What do you do?

DeepCell files patents, creates technologies, and licenses them into adult-use recreational markets. We own one patent, with more pending. We also produce and develop hemp products (CBD) and direct sell and distribute via brick and mortar and e-commerce. The company has generated $1.9M in sales since 2018, placing us in a rare company of revenue generating tech companies in cannabis.

Q: What stage of development are you? Choose one:

Commercial stage – have mature products or services on the market.

Q: What do your technologies, products or services do and accomplish – how does it (they) work, who is it (they) aimed for?

We patented our “Crystal Fusion” platform, which infuses cannabinoid molecules in the crystal structures of sugar, salt, and other ingredients. This is game changing since edible makers currently use oils and butter, or purified extracts that do not easily formulate. We allow bakers to bake, cooks to cook, and product developers an easy way to rapidly prototype and commercialize.

We also have patents pending on gut health related to cannabinoids as well as adult use brands that sell in legal markets.

Q: Competitively, what gives your technology, product or service set an edge in cost or performance, sustainability, or any other aspect, that makes it stand out from the crowd, In short, what makes it transformative?

Formulating cannabis products requires: biology, chemistry, product development, food processing, and marketing skill. We allow companies to rapidly innovate by removing the need to grow, extract, purify, or test prior to product development. With infused organic ingredients, quality is assured, along with dosing. This is a huge leap that can unleash the potential of innovators in cannabis.

Federal and state laws have hampered this industry, however with Biden and Democrats signaling cannabis legalization a priority, the future looks bright.

Q: What are the 3 top milestones you have accomplished in the past 3 years?

Patented and commercialized the world’s first infused organic ingredient in THC and CBD format.
Licensees in Canada and US.
Products featured on Netflix: Cooked with Cannabis, and used by celebrities in California.