From Mars to Cannabis: Former NASA Engineer Creates Robots for Cannabis

Inside the headquarters of Stiiizy, the largest cannabis brand in the United States in sales, in Los Angeles, a robotic machine performs a process that, until recently, relied entirely on human hands. The equipment, called Stardust, takes ten pre-rolled joints, dips them in THC concentrate, and then in kief - a potent form of cannabis similar to powder.

In seconds, each joint comes out coated with an extra dose of the substance responsible for the psychoactive effect of marijuana. In just one hour, the Stardust, manufactured by Sorting Robotics, produces about 1,000 ready-to-consume joints with the help of just one human operator.

Meanwhile, in another room of the factory, 140 employees still manually perform similar processes, showing that automation has not completely replaced labor.

Founded in 2019 by Nohtal Partansky (CEO), Cassio Santos (CTO), and Sean Lawlor, Sorting Robotics has already sold about 30 Stardust machines, each costing $250,000, in addition to more affordable equipment.

The company, with 20 employees, is expected to reach $11 million in revenue in 2025, maintaining profitability since 2021. Among its clients are giants like Tilray from Canada and regional brands in the USA, such as Blue Fox Brands, which markets the Cali Blaze line in different states.

An expanding market - but full of obstacles

The cannabis industry generated $32 billion in 2024 in the USA, but only 27% of companies are profitable. The pre-rolled joint segment already accounts for 16% of sales, equivalent to $4.1 billion, with an annual growth of 12%.

Despite high demand, few companies produce volumes sufficient to justify a $250,000 investment in a Stardust. Federal prohibition still prevents interstate distribution, limiting the scale of factories.

Nevertheless, in California, the segment generated $178.1 million, with 66.3% of that total in pre-rolls. In Canada, between May and October, sales of these products exceeded flower sales by $33 million, indicating they could dominate the market as early as 2025.

In the United States, Delaware is also following this trend: in the first weekend of sales for adult use, the state collected $903,000, with pre-rolls with concentrate standing at $16,200 - well above traditional ones, which recorded less than $1,000.

The average price of pre-rolls in the USA is around $6.50 for standard versions and $8.77 for infused ones, ranging from $5 to over $20, depending on the region.

The founder's profile: from Mars to marijuana

Nohtal Partansky, CEO of Sorting Robotics, defies the stereotype of a cannabis entrepreneur. An aerospace engineer graduated from Georgia Tech, he worked at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory on the MOXIE project, which produces oxygen on Mars.

After experiences with technology startups, Partansky saw the cannabis sector as a promising area to apply automation. In 2021, he launched the company's first robot for the sector, Jiko.

Sorting Robotics competes with smaller companies like Action Pack, Accelerant, and Roll Pros. However, tobacco industry giants like the German Körber are already testing machines capable of rolling thousands of hemp cigarettes per minute.

It is expected that federal marijuana legalization - if the drug is reclassified from Schedule I to Schedule III by the US government - will pave the way for Big Tobacco's definitive entry into the sector.

Partansky believes that in this scenario, traditional cigarette manufacturers will have an immediate interest in investing in the cannabis industry and does not rule out selling Sorting Robotics when that time comes.

With information from Forbes