Electronic Cigarette Maker Raises $75M in Funding

Electronic-cigarette maker Njoy Inc. said Monday that it has raised $75 million in financing from investors including Napster founder and entrepreneur Sean Parker and Homewood Capital principal Douglas Teitelbaum.

The funds will be used for marketing, clinical trials, research and development, and international expansion, the company said.

Electronic cigarettes typically use battery-powered devices that heat a liquid nicotine solution and create vapor that users inhale. Devotees say e-cigarettes address both the addictive and behavioral aspects of smoking. Smokers get their nicotine without the more than 4,000 chemicals found in regular cigarettes. And they get to hold a cigarette, while puffing and exhaling something that looks like smoke.

More than 45 million Americans smoke cigarettes, and about half of smokers try to quit each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Sean Parker founded Napster as a 19-year old in 1999, and later was Facebook’s founding president. He also led the first U.S. investment in Spotify, a streaming music service.

Homewood Capital is a New York-based investment firm founded by Douglas Teitelbaum, who is joining Njoy’s board of directors.