Kim Sanchez Rael, CEO Co-Founder of Azuca – Interview Series

The edible sector of the cannabis industry continues to grow due to constant innovation and a push away from more harmful methods of consumption that involve smoke. This innovation is being spearheaded by edible brands looking to utilize the very best technology and ingredients for their operations. Since 2018, Azuca has created formulations and products for edible cannabis products to reach their full potential. For a better understanding of this technology and how it could significantly change the edible production process, mycannabis.com had the pleasure of speaking with Azuca founder and CEO, Kim Sanchez Rael.

I’m pretty sure you’re the first professional I’ve interviewed who attended not only Harvard for your undergrad but also Stanford for your MBA program. What subjects did you study at these prestigious universities, and how did it prepare you for your eventual career in innovation and technology?

At Harvard, I studied a very wide range of subjects, including design, policy, history, chemistry, spirituality, language, and sociology, and ended up majoring in international relations. I have always had very broad and diverse interests, and always have loved turning over new rocks, trying completely new topics, industries and practices.

At Stanford, being immersed in the heart of Silicon Valley sharpened my ability to think innovatively, assess risk, and scale businesses. The MBA program’s emphasis on real-world application, venture creation, and disruptive thinking shaped my approach to business and technology. More importantly, Stanford instilled in me a culture of innovation where thinking outside the box wasn’t just encouraged, but expected.

This combination—Harvard’s broad intellectual training and Stanford’s entrepreneurial mindset—has enabled me to navigate diverse industries, from energy and venture capital to semiconductors and cannabis. The common thread has always been innovation and building solutions that drive real change. At Azuca, we’re doing exactly that with TiME INFUSION®, addressing one of the biggest challenges in the cannabis edibles market: delivering fast-acting, predictable, and great-tasting products. It’s incredibly rewarding to apply these lessons to an industry that’s still evolving in real-time.

Before your impressive career in venture capital and very wise investing, you were an aide for former New Mexico Senator Jeff Bingaman. What skills and lessons did you learn about science and technology policy while serving as a Senate aide, and how did the experience expand your interest in those subjects?

Working for Senator Jeff Bingaman was an invaluable experience. I was involved in policy discussions about the future of science, technology, and energy—key industries that drive economic growth and innovation. That experience gave me a deep understanding of how policy and industry interact and intersect, which is foundational in cannabis.

One of the biggest takeaways was learning how to balance the interests of multiple stakeholders such as scientists, policymakers, entrepreneurs, and consumers. That ability to navigate complex regulatory environments has been crucial in the cannabis space, where policy and business intersect in every way. It also reinforced my belief that innovation thrives when guided by smart policy, a principle I carry into my work with Azuca today. Perhaps most importantly, my experience on Capitol Hill gave me a deep knowledge that it is very risky to ever bet your business on a belief that Congress will make any particular policy changes on any particular timeline. Doing so is a very bad business business strategy. Understanding the unpredictability of policy change (or lack thereof) is critical to execute operational and capital deployment in cannabis, and unfortunately, something that many in the industry got painfully wrong.

What roles did you hold while you worked with Intel (INTC ), and how did your duties in those roles strengthen your career in investing and sensing useful examples of innovative technology?

At Intel, I worked in finance, operations, engineering systems and strategic planning, focused on driving operational scale, quality and cost-effective manufacturing. One of my key projects was a $1 billion capacity expansion, which required me to think strategically about scaling operations, managing risk, and optimizing resources.

Intel’s culture of relentless innovation shaped my appreciation for scaling groundbreaking technologies and driving quality systems at scale. Those skills translated directly into my later work as an investor and, ultimately, as CEO of Azuca—where I saw a clear opportunity to revolutionize the cannabis edibles space with fast-acting, predictable products.

How would you describe the experience of leading a $1 billion expansion of such a massive company? What were the major points of expansion, and how did it shape the company going forward?

To be clear, the expansion was a team effort, as all effective initiatives are. My role in the expansion was managing the complex interdependencies of installing hundreds of pieces of very expensive capital equipment and the interdependencies that drove our next generation capacity.

A major focus was scaling production capacity while maintaining Intel’s high standards of innovation and efficiency. The experience taught me how to execute at scale, which helped inform my decisions when building Azuca. It also taught me to think strategically about applying one of my favorite tools, Eli Goldratt’s Theory of Constraints. For example, in plotting the manpower requirements of the project it became clear that at one point in the schedule our demand for electricians to keep the project on schedule actually exceeded the number of electricians in the state. We had to get ahead of that constraint and source trade specialists from adjacent states. So the lesson learned is to always scan the horizon for the thing that is going to constrain your growth and intentionally be ahead of it. We use this practice as a key management planning tool at Azuca. Our management team meetings always start with a roundtable discussion of “Where’s the Constraint?”

When did you join Flywheel Ventures, and from your decades with the company, what do you believe have been some of the wisest and/or fruitful investments that the company and investors have made? Have some of those companies Flywheel invested in gone on to innovate their respective fields?

I joined Flywheel Ventures in the early 2000s, drawn by the opportunity to help build and scale high-impact technology companies. Flywheel has always focused on disruptive innovations—companies that don’t just improve existing industries but redefine them.

I think the most interesting investment we made at Flywheel was in a company that was leading the innovation curve for advanced testing of semiconductor chips, so again, it was the intersection of innovation and advanced manufacturing. I have always been more excited about innovations that manifest in a physical product (as opposed to software, SAAS, etc) because I have always been interested in manufacturing and products you can hold in your hand.

What led to the founding of Azuca, and given your successful and extensive record in investing in innovation, what interested you about working within the cannabis industry/sector?

As we’ve discussed, my background is in technology and venture capital. After over two decades of a successful career in those fields, I decided to pivot into the wellness sector for a number of reasons. I was unsure of my next move and unexpectedly–by a good twist of fate–was asked by an old friend to be in a focus group to sample a cannabis product developed by Ron Silver—Azuca’s Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer, Ron is also Chef/Owner of Bubby’s – a popular NYC mainstay for over three decades. I was skeptical (and truthfully fearful) at first because I was not a cannabis consumer, but I trusted my friend and agreed to sample the products. In a nutshell, they were fantastic. I knew immediately that Ron’s process, which would eventually evolve into Azuca TiME INFUSION® enabling fast-acting cannabis edibles and culinary-forward products, had potential to disrupt the marketplace and have a strong impact. As I did my due diligence on the industry, it was clear that it was time to reinvent the future of cannabis edibles and solve the “edibles problem” of long latency times, poor quality and predictability, as well as to demystify the cannabis experience for new adopters.

What also excited me about cannabis was the sheer opportunity for innovation. The industry was—and still is—like the early days of the internet: full of potential but lacking standardized solutions. There is a need for precision, consistency, and scalability that were missing in cannabis ingestibles and Azuca is filling the gap. It can be frustrating at times, but it’s also exhilarating to work in an ecosystem defined by unprecedented uncertainty, chaos and regulatory constraints. The industry pushes us to our limits! And at the end of the day, we’re really helping people–our partners and consumers I enjoy, and am proud, that we are bringing products to market that are equally attractive to my parents’ generation as they are to my adult children’s generation.

Hearing from customers and partners and our team members that Azuca has made their lives better is the true highlight of my career.

From a scientific standpoint, how was the technology of Azuca’s fast-acting TiME INFUSION created, and how did Azuca greatly reduce the time that edibles require to kick in?

TiME INFUSION® is based on an innovative encapsulation process. Unlike traditional edibles, which rely on slow digestive absorption, our process transforms cannabinoids into water-friendly molecules that bypass first-pass metabolism. This allows for rapid absorption in the soft tissues of the mouth, esophagus, and digestive system, resulting in effects that are felt in 5 to 15 minutes instead of 60 to 90 minutes.

On the consumer side, by preempting the first pass metabolism, TiME INFUSION® allows for greater Delta-9-THC absorption – providing a more euphoric high – typically associated with inhalation, instead of the heavy, couch-lock high from traditional edibles. (Read more on the difference between Delta-9-THC and 11-Hydroxy-THC here.) There is also no bitter, medicinal, grassy/hemp after-taste. These effects are attractive to both existing cannabis consumers looking for an alternative to smoking, as well as new cannabis consumers who may have heard stories about unpleasant or unpredictable edibles experiences.

For manufacturers, our process is simple, stable and completely scalable for companies of any size. The solution helps companies save money – it is easy to use, easy to store, and easy to implement, so our partners can quickly bring best-in-class solutions to their customers. Azuca can be incorporated into existing manufacturing processes, doesn’t require moving product or equipment across state lines and helps reduce active ingredient waste up to 65% (more here). Our partnership model is completely scalable and empowers our brand partners to control their production process.

How do you envision this technology and these processes being utilized across the cannabis industry? How would Azuca’s solutions not only raise the quality of individual edible products but also change the whole edible marketplace?

Azuca’s technology is already transforming the edibles space. Our TiME INFUSION® ACTiVATOR® products allow manufacturers to produce fast-acting, predictable edibles without expensive equipment or complex formulations. This makes high-quality ingestibles more accessible to brands of all sizes.

More broadly, I see fast-acting ingestibles becoming the standard. Consumers expect immediacy and precision—whether in food, medicine, or technology. Cannabis edibles should be no different. As the industry matures, the demand for sessionable, social, and predictable cannabis products will only grow.

Importantly, brands that adopt fast-acting formulations are enjoying price premiums at point of sale. Consumers across the regulated cannabis markets are willing to pay a significant premium for well-formulated, fast-acting products. We will be releasing a new study that we completed with BDSA on premium prices, but to give you a taste of the data, out-the-door retail prices for fast-acting gummies was 50% higher across the major US markets ($14 vs $21 in the 100 mg gummy category.)

From your decades of experience investing in technology that changes and innovates, how do you see the Azuca technology improving and evolving as the cannabis edibles market rapidly expands?

The cannabis edibles market is evolving rapidly, and Azuca’s TiME INFUSION® process is designed to evolve with it. From my experience in scaling disruptive technologies, I know that innovation must be continuous—stagnation isn’t an option. Right now, our process is solving the industry’s biggest challenge: making edibles fast-acting, predictable, and great-tasting. But we’re not stopping there.

We’re developing next-generation infusion methods that improve efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance customization for brands. We’re also pushing the boundaries with whole-plant formulations and beverage solutions.

For example, our Whole-Plant ACTiVATOR® allows for edibles without extracts. This entirely new category of edibles and beverages uses whole cannabis flower as infusion material and delivers the true inflorescence of unique strains including cannabinoids, terpenes, and flavonoids. A first in the industry, Azuca’s process doesn’t require traditional extraction and the only solvent used is water, offering a significant reduction in processing costs and a natural approach to ingestible infusions. In addition to fast-onset, products can be made without any additional flavoring, highlighting each strain’s unique sensory effects and flavor. We were thrilled to recently launch the first iteration of whole-plant gummies with the team at Flower Union. So far they are being well-received in the marketplace!

What are some upcoming plans for the company? When will this technology be going international?

Azuca is focused on continuous innovation and expansion. We’re doubling down on new product development, including next-generation TiME INFUSION® formulations that enhance efficiency, scalability, and customization for brands. We’re also expanding our Whole-Plant ACTiVATOR® and Ready-to-Drink (RTD) solutions, ensuring that edibles and beverages meet consumer demand for fast-acting, great-tasting, and predictable experiences.

On the international front, we’re continuing to make strategic moves. Our licensing model allows us to scale efficiently across markets without moving infused products across borders—solving a key industry challenge. Stay tuned for a very important announcement as we’ll be sharing a key partnership overseas.

We are also very excited about the emerging social consumption movement, and in particular, about the role of sessionable, predictable beverages for the social consumption experience. As licensed social consumption venues come online from a regulatory perspective, beverage and edible manufacturers will need to deliver a predictable, doesable and social experience–that tastes great and suits adult flavor preferences. Azuca TiME INFUSION® is a great option for entrepreneurs entering the social consumption movement.

Ultimately, our mission is to set the global standard for infused products, and we’re excited to bring TiME INFUSION® to more markets!

If a federal rescheduling of cannabis were to occur, how would that impact Azuca? Do you envision these technologies eventually being utilized in manufacturing in other industries?

Federal rescheduling would be a huge win, particularly if it is done in a manner that removes the boat anchor of 280E, but we’re prepared no matter what happens. Our technology is already compliant with food and beverage industry standards, positioning us for broader applications beyond cannabis including functional foods, nutraceuticals, topicals and pharmaceuticals.

Thank you for joining us, Kim! For more information on Azuca, please visit its website.