Namaste Closes Acquisition of Leading A.I. and Machine-Learning Technology Platform Findify.io for $12,000,000 in Cash and Shares

VANCOUVER, May 22, 2018 /CNW/ - Namaste Technologies Inc. ("Namaste" or the "Company") (TSXV: N) (FRA: M5BQ) (OTCMKTS: NXTTF) is pleased to announce that the Company has closed its previously announced acquisition of Swedish-based A.I. and machine learning technology platform, Findify AB ("Findify" or "Findify.io"), through the purchase of all of the issued and outstanding shares of Findify, for a purchase price of US $12,000,000 in a combination of cash and common shares of the Company. Findify is a global leader in A.I. powered e-commerce technology, delivering solutions such as personalized search, recommendations, and advanced data analytics. The acquisition of Findify as a technology platform will bring significant value to Namaste and its shareholders by accelerating the Company's growth strategy, enhancing conversion rates and revenue and in providing an entry into machine-learning and A.I. for applications for cannabis.

Findify's Platform and Conversion Rate Optimization

Findify's platform, which is used by leading e-commerce websites, including Namaste, uses proprietary real-time machine learning algorithms to deliver a truly personalized experience to each and every customer. Through robust data collection, the platform analyzes user behavior and in combination with product trends, it automatically and continuously displays relevant products to each customer at any given time. The ability to deliver accurate and relevant products real-time, leads to increases in revenue, conversion rates and average order value.

Namaste will deploy Findify's full product suite across its platform in order to bring this intelligence across all consumer touch-points. This focus on conversion rate optimization (CRO) using A.I. and machine learning technology will provide Namaste's customers and patients, with an enhanced user experience while also increasing sales. The Company's management team anticipates that the integration of Findify's full-suite of proprietary technology will increase monetization, deliver a better user experience for customers, and propel revenue growth in both cannabis and hardware sales.

Cannabis A.I.

The Namaste and Findify team are pleased to be bringing the power of artificial intelligence to solve the problem of unpredictability in plant medicine. Findify's technology will help bring clarity to our consumers and patients, who seek a specific cannabis strain in an ocean of variety, misinformation, uncertainty. Recent studies have revealed that the cannabis plant has 144 cannabinoids and over 100 terpenes, each with beneficial properties in unique combinations, affecting individuals in different ways. In addition to having over a thousand strains and over 200 variations of beneficial compounds, humans have different responses to each of these strains, making it an enormous challenge to find the right strain for the right person and their particular needs. Today, we search for that perfect strain by means of trial & error or guesswork. But Findify's proprietary machine learning technology will allow us to match each unique individual with the relevant cannabis products for them. The Findify acquisition uniquely positions Namaste to develop a cannabis-focused A.I. platform that will provide a deeper understanding of patients needs and behaviours in an effort to provide a more relevant and personalized experience.

Key terms of the Acquisition:

• Namaste acquired all issued and outstanding shares of Findify in exchange for:
• US $2,000,000 in cash, paid upon the closing date of the proposed transaction.
• US $10,000,000 paid in common shares of Namaste at a mutually agreed price of C$1.80 per common share. 

The acquisition of Findify represents a major milestone for Namaste as its largest and first technology-based acquisition. Namaste will roll-out the entire suite of products available through Findify on all touch points in order to bring real-time intelligence across its platform. Findify will also leverage their experience working with 1000+ e-commerce stores, with conversion rate optimization and enhanced UX design.

Management Commentary

Meni Morim, Founder and CEO of Findify comments:

"We are delighted to officially be part of the Namaste Technologies team. We believe that technology can make the world a better place, and we strive to achieve that vision by bringing plant-based holistic medicine to the masses. By leveraging the power of A.I., we can understand complex plant characteristics and match them with patients' profiles, thus helping patients with ailments such as chronic pain find the right strain of cannabis to alleviate their condition. It's exciting to be able to use Namaste's platform to offer people in remote areas access to health professionals and high-quality products.

During the acquisition process, we had the opportunity to work closely with the Namaste management team. It is an incredibly experienced and talented group of people, with drive and dedication which is truly inspiring. We are honored to be part of such a team.

We have spent a significant time reviewing the vision and roadmap of Namaste, and we're very excited to take part in shaping the future of cannabis. We will be working hard on weaving A.I. into all aspects of the Namaste offering, which will deliver an unparalleled experience to our customers and patients."

Sean Dollinger, President and CEO of Namaste comments: 

"We are very excited to have acquired such an innovative company. Findify's team have demonstrated themselves to be not only cutting-edge developers but also like-minded in business and strategy. We have already seen the benefits of A.I. and machine-learning in applications of e-commerce and anticipate strong growth in Findify's existing business, offering this as a service to retailers. Our strategy will be to roll-out the full-suite of Findify's offering across all Namaste sites with a focus on increasing CRO and in maximizing revenue and profitability. We have devoted ourselves to acquiring and innovating technology for the cannabis industry. We are very excited to have the opportunity to begin testing machine-learning and A.I. applications specifically within the cannabis industry.

In the future, cannabis patients will demand a more personalized online experience, as products and services in the cannabis industry continue to grow exponentially. We remain focused on positioning the company as a global leader in applications of innovative technology within the cannabis industry. We are very proud to have such talented companies and individuals working in partnership with Namaste to enhance a patient's online buying experience by providing a deeper level personalization that will directly impact the patient's experience."

About Findify AB

Findify is a leader in e-commerce machine learning applications, with over 1200 customers in more than 60 countries around the world. Findify has developed a unique machine learning core, that leverages user behaviour, to personalize online experiences in real-time. Findify's machine learning technology has been proven to deliver up to 27% uplift in conversion rate, and up to 30% uplift in revenue per user.

Findify is an official Shopify Plus Technology Partner, recognized as a "Best-In-Class Solution" for modern, rapidly growing e-Commerce businesses.  

About Namaste Technologies Inc.

Namaste Technologies is a global leader in the sale of medical cannabis consumption devices. Namaste has nine offices with multiple distribution centers around the globe and operates over 30 websites under various brands. Namaste has developed innovative technology platforms including NamasteMD.com, Canada's first ACMPR compliant telemedicine application. The company is focused on patient acquisition through NamasteMD and intends on building Canada's largest database of medical cannabis patients. The company's subsidiary, CannMart Inc. is an ACMPR Licensed Producer with a "sales-only" license, whereby the company will offer a large variety of medical cannabis sourced from domestic and international producers. Namaste will continue to develop and acquire innovative technologies which will provide value to the Company and to its shareholders as well as to the broader cannabis market.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

"Sean Dollinger"

Chief Executive Officer

Investor Relations

Phone: [phone] or 250-300-5103

Email: [email protected]

Further information on Namaste and its products can be accessed through the links below:

namastetechnologies.com

namastevapes.ca

everyonedoesit.ca

namastevaporizers.co.uk

everyonedoesit.co.uk

australianvaporizers.com.au

Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains forward-looking information based on current expectations. These statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those implied by such statements. Although such statements are based on management's reasonable assumptions, Namaste assumes no responsibility to update or revise forward-looking information to reflect new events or circumstances unless required by law. Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which the forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. These statements speak only as of the date of this press release. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks including various risk factors discussed in the Company's disclosure documents, which can be found under the Company's profile on www.sedar.com. This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and such forward looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbour provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its market regulator has reviewed or approved the contents of this press release.

SOURCE Namaste Technologies Inc.