Emerald Intel Named Top Cannabis Data Intelligence Platform 2026 by Cannabis Business Insights

Award recognizes leadership in verified cannabis market intelligence.

Emerald Intel, a leading provider of cannabis market intelligence, has been named the Top Cannabis Data Intelligence Platform 2026 by Cannabis Business Insights, recognizing its leadership in delivering verified, actionable data to the cannabis industry.

The award reflects Emerald Intel’s strong reputation among customers and industry peers, following numerous subscriber nominations. Recipients were selected through an extensive evaluation process conducted by a panel of C-level executives, industry thought leaders, and the publication’s editorial board.

Emerald Intel was founded to address a critical gap in the cannabis industry: the absence of reliable, unified data to understand licensed operators, ownership structures, and market dynamics. Unlike more mature industries, cannabis data has historically been fragmented, inconsistent, and primarily designed for compliance rather than strategic use.

To solve this, Emerald Intel built a relational data platform that integrates cannabis licensing, ownership, company relationships, and executive information into a unified, continuously verified system. Following its acquisition of Cannabiz Media in November 2025, the platform now delivers one of the most comprehensive views of the regulated cannabis market, with license data from 27 countries outside of North America, state sales data across key markets, and M&A tracking dating back to 2018.

Designed to integrate directly into client workflows, including CRM platforms such as Salesforce, HubSpot, and Zoho CRM, Emerald Intel enables sales, compliance, underwriting, and operational teams to act on intelligence in real time—reducing uncertainty and improving decision-making in a complex regulatory environment.

“Every industry my co-founders and I worked in before had mature information resources that gave participants clarity. Cannabis didn’t, and that absence consistently slowed sales, underwriting, hiring, and compliance decisions,” said John Stanfill, CEO and Co-Founder of Emerald Intel. “We are honored to receive this recognition from Cannabis Business Insights. It reinforces our mission to bring clarity, transparency, and actionable intelligence to the cannabis industry. As the market continues to evolve, trusted data infrastructure will play a critical role in enabling businesses to operate more efficiently, manage risk, and unlock growth.”

Emerald Intel continues to expand its cannabis data platform with advanced analytics, AI-driven data capabilities, and broader datasets, further strengthening its role as a foundational data intelligence provider for the cannabis industry.

About Emerald Intel
Emerald Intel is the trusted source for verified, real-time business intelligence on the cannabis and hemp industry. Covering licensed operators, ancillary businesses, and consumer brands, we provide accurate insights into over 51,000 companies and more than 200,000 decision-makers. Our mission is simple: deliver the reliable data businesses need to navigate a fast-changing market and drive growth with confidence. https://www.emeraldintel.ai/