Pax Labs
TypePrivate
IndustryCannabis
FoundedJune 2007 (2007-06) in San Francisco, California
FounderJames Monsees
Adam Bowen
Headquarters660 Alabama Street, San Francisco, California, 94110
Area served
United States
Canada
Israel
ProductsElectronic vaporizers
Websitepax.com

Pax Labs (formerly Ploom[1] and stylized as PAX Labs) is an American electronic vaporizer company founded in 2007 that markets the Pax vaporizers.[1] The company developed the Juul (pronounced jewel[2]) e-cigarette. Juul Labs was spun out as a separate company in 2017.[3][4]

History

In 2005, two former cigarette smokers, Adam Bowen and James Monsees, met while they were graduate students in product-design at Stanford University and developed an e-cigarette called Ploom.[5] Monsees and Bowen founded the Ploom company to distribute their e-cigarette in 2007.[1] Unable to find support from financial institutions, Ploom relied on private investors to launch their products.[6][7] In August 2016, Tyler Goldman joined Monsees and Bowen, becoming the CEO of Pax.[4] The initial Ploom e-cigarette did not have commercial success; it experienced multiple technical errors that caused people to be burned, receive an electrical shock, and struggle to make the pod release the product.[8]

In 2011, Japan Tobacco International invested $10 million into the company.[9] Ploom used this money to create the Pax, a vaporizer for loose leaf tobacco. While the product was invented to support smokers, cannabis users discovered that the Pax streamlined the cannabis experience.[8]As Pax became associated with cannabis, JTI asked to part ways with Ploom. Ploom retained their rights to the Pax product, while Ploom changed their name to Pax Labs and bought JTI out of their share.[10]

Bowen left Pax in June 2017, Monsees left Pax in July 2017, and Goldman left Pax in December 2017.[4] Bharat Vasan served as CEO from February 2018 until September 2019.[11]

It markets the Pax vaporizers,[12] starting with the Pax by Ploom. As Pax Labs, Inc., the company then introduced the Pax 2 and can be used with loose-leaf tobacco or cannabis.[13] In November 2016, the Pax 3 was released, featuring compatibility with both extracts and plant matter, new tools and accessories, and a complementary smart phone app. The same month, Pax also introduced an extract-based vaporizer called the Era, which operates by heating a concentrated cannabis liquid held in very small containers.[14]

Pax closed a $420 million equity round in April 2019, which valued the company at $1.7 billion.[15] In June 2019, Pax announced it had signed agreements with four Canadian pot stocks, Aurora Cannabis, Aphria, OrganiGram Holdings and The Supreme Cannabis Company, to supply it with cannabis extracts, resins, and distillates for its PAX Era pen-and-pod vape system.[16]

As of 2023, Pax distributes products in the United States, Canada, Germany, Spain, France, and the United Kingdom.[17]

Juul

Juul vaporizer
Juul vaporizer

In June 2015, the company introduced Juul, a type of e-cigarette that utilizes nicotine salts that exist in leaf-based tobacco, for its key ingredient.[18] They were given a US patent for their nicotine salt preparation in 2015.[19] The nicotine salts are said to create an experience more like smoking than other e-cigarettes on the market.[20] The e-cigarette is shaped like a USB flash drive[21] and recharges using a magnetic USB deck.[22] Each cartridge (called a Juul pod) contains about the same amount of nicotine as one pack of cigarettes[21] and delivers approximately 200 hits.[22]

Juul attempts to deliver a nicotine peak in five minutes, similar to a traditional cigarette.[23] Mango was among the five most popular flavors, but it is no longer available in the United States where now only menthol and tobacco flavors are sold.[24] A Juul starter kit sells for about $49.99.[25] Given the high nicotine concentrations in Juul, the nicotine-related health consequences of its use by young people could be more severe than those from their use of other e-cigarette products.[26]

In 2017 Juul Labs was spun out of Pax Labs as an independent company.[4] Tyler Goldman, former CEO of Pax Labs, was named CEO of Juul after the spin-off.[4]

PAX Vaporizer

PAX 1

Originally released in 2012, the PAX 1 was the first of the dry herb vaporizers to be sold by Ploom before the company became known as PAX Labs.

PAX 2

The second PAX vaporizer was released on March 10, 2015. This model of the PAX line featured a smaller design than the original device. [27]

PAX 3

In November 2016, the third PAX device was released. This was the first model to allow the use of both dry herbs and cannabis concentrates (via use of a concentrate insert). The PAX 3 delivers the same temperature range as the PAX 2; from 360 to 420 °F (182 to 216 °C). The PAX 3 offers improved temperature adjustability, down to the precise degree.[28] The PAX 2 only offered four pre-determined temperature settings within this range. The PAX 3 features wireless connectivity to smartphones via the PAX application. [29][30]

PAX Era

Released alongside the PAX 3 in late 2016, the PAX Era was the first cannabis vaporizer to use proprietary PAX Pod cartridges. Similar in design to PAX Labs' previous device, the Juul, the PAX Era uses food-grade polycarbonate cartridges[31] which are filled with pure cannabis oil. Like the PAX 3 vaporizer, the PAX Era may be wirelessly connected to smartphones via the PAX application.[32]

PAX Era Pro

PAX introduces its Era Pro vaporizer, an update to the original Era model. Compared to its predecessor, the Pro edition features several add-ons, including ExpertTemp technology, pod memory, haptic feedback, and a UL-certified battery. The PAX Era Pro works with pre-filled cannabis oil PAX pods and has a temperature range from 518 to 788 °F (270 to 420 °C).

References

  1. 1 2 3 Will Yakowicz (June 10, 2015). "This Silicon Valley Company Just Raised $47 Million to Smoke Cigarette Makers". Inc.
  2. ↑ Editorial Staff (June 20, 2018). "JUUL: A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing". American Lung Association.
  3. ↑ Staff, Entrepreneur (July 24, 2018). "How This Investor Blazed a Path to Success in the Cannabis Industry". Entrepreneur. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Ari Levi (December 19, 2017). "E-cigarette maker Juul is raising $150 million after spinning out of vaping company". CNBC.
  5. ↑ Tolentino, Jia (May 14, 2018). "The Promise of Vaping and the Rise of Juul". The New Yorker. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
  6. ↑ Tom Huddleston, Jr. (June 10, 2015). "Investors are lining up for this e-cig, vaporization company". Fortune. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  7. ↑ Jordan Crook (June 10, 2015). "Pax Labs Heats Up With $46.7 Million In Series C Funding". TechCrunch. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  8. 1 2 "The Spark". Big Vape The Rise and Fall of Juul. Season 1. October 11, 2023. Netflix.
  9. ↑ "Newer Nicotine and Tobacco Products: Japan Tobacco International". Tobacco Tactics from the University of Bath. February 16, 2023.
  10. ↑ Barnaby Page (February 17, 2015). "Ploom and JTI agree to split up, divide heat-not-burn brands". ECigIntelligence. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  11. ↑ Colin Crook (September 17, 2019). "Pax Labs' Bharat Vasan is out as CEO". TechCrunch.
  12. ↑ Freddie Dawson (July 31, 2015). "Pax Labs Looking At International Expansion". Forbes. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  13. ↑ Melia Robinson (August 22, 2016). "The company behind the 'iPhone of vaporizers' is reinventing the e-cigarette". Business Insider.
  14. ↑ Melia Robinson (October 13, 2016). "The 'Apple of vaping' made an e-cigarette for marijuana — here's what it's like". Business Insider.
  15. ↑ Crook, Jordan (April 22, 2019). "Confirmed: Pax Labs raises $420 million at a valuation of $1.7 billion". TechCrunch. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
  16. ↑ "Vape Giant PAX Labs Picked 4 Popular Pot Stocks as Its Supply Partners". finance.yahoo.com. June 12, 2019. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
  17. ↑ "Find Authorized Retailers Near You". pax.com. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  18. ↑ Alyssa Stahr (June 5, 2015). "New Product: PAX LABS Introduces E-CIGARETTE JUUL". Vape News. Archived from the original on July 15, 2019. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  19. ↑ Sean Thomas (December 22, 2015). "PAX secures patent for "Nicotine Salt E-Cigarette"". The Slanted. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
  20. ↑ Ryan Lawler (April 20, 2015). "Vaporization Startup Pax Labs Introduces Juul, Its Next-Gen E-Cigarette". TechCrunch. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  21. 1 2 Aaron Souppouris (June 3, 2015). "Juul is the e-cig that will finally stop me from smoking (I hope)". Engadget. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  22. 1 2 Nitasha Tiku (April 21, 2015). "Startup behind the Lambo of vaporizers just launched an intelligent e-cigarette". The Verge. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  23. ↑ Ben Radding. "Pax Juul: The iPhone of E-cigs?". Men's Fitness. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  24. ↑ Teitell, Beth (November 16, 2017). "'Juuling': The most widespread phenomenon you've never heard of". The Boston Globe.
  25. ↑ Wisniewski, Christie (April 18, 2018). "Vaping, juuling latest threats to teen, pre-teen health". The Recorder.
  26. ↑ Galper Grossman, Sharon (2019). "Vape Gods and Judaism—E-cigarettes and Jewish Law". Rambam Maimonides Medical Journal. 10 (3): e0019. doi:10.5041/RMMJ.10372. ISSN 2076-9172. PMC 6649778. PMID 31335312. This article incorporates text by Sharon Galper Grossman available under the CC BY 3.0 license.
  27. ↑ "Pax 2 vs Original Pax 1 Vaporizer Comparison". Vaporizer Wizard. April 12, 2015. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
  28. ↑ "PAX Labs". Discount Vape Pen. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  29. ↑ "PAX 3". PAX. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
  30. ↑ "PAX 2 vs PAX 3: Which One is Right for You?". PAX. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
  31. ↑ "PAX Era Review". Vaping Daily. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  32. ↑ "ERA". PAX. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
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