Wave, the market leader in interactive virtual entertainment experiences, today announced $30M in Series B funding led by Maveron with material participation from Griffin Gaming Partners. Additional investors in the round include NTT DOCOMO Ventures, Avex, Superfly Ventures, Convivialite Ventures, and Raised in Space. Existing investors include RRE Ventures, Upfront Ventures, The Venture Reality Fund, GFR Fund, and GC Tracker Fund, among others. Wave has raised $40M to date.
In addition to venture capitalists, renowned entrepreneurs Scooter Braun, Alex Rodriguez, Superfly co-founder Rick Farman, and Twitch co-founder Kevin Lin participated in the round. This group’s investment signifies how Wave is revolutionizing virtual experiences for the music industry and audiences around the world.
Funding will further fuel Wave’s ability to go beyond traditional live streaming and serve the next generation of concert-goers. The investment will elevate Wave’s creation of personalized artist avatars, new virtual environments and formats, and interactive experiences, including in-game activations and social experiences at the nexus of gaming and entertainment. The round also expedites Wave’s expansion into global markets like Japan and China.
“It’s a privilege to be supported by such distinguished investors like Maveron and Griffin Gaming Partners, who have funded breakout consumer businesses,” said Wave CEO and Co-Founder Adam Arrigo. “The added support from several new strategic partners shows the entertainment industry is looking for new, interactive ways to connect with today’s digital generation.”
Wave works with music labels, management companies and independent artists to connect their roster of talent with the next generation of concert-goers. Most recently, Wave announced its “One Wave” series of virtual concerts featuring John Legend, Tinashe and many more. The upcoming and unprecedented virtual experiences will provide Wave artists with a platform to create authentic digital avatars and environments that represent their artistic vision in real-time, speaking directly to today’s gaming and tech-centric audiences.
David Wu, general partner at Maveron, and Phil Sanderson, managing director and co-founder of Griffin Gaming Partners, are joining Wave’s Board of Directors, alongside RRE Ventures COO and partner Will Porteous.
“In Adam, we met a talented entrepreneur redefining the future of live performance in a digital world and passionate about uniting humanity around these shared music experiences,” said Wu. “As Wave brings massive global audiences to their groundbreaking virtual concert experiences, we believe Wave is perfectly positioned to build the defining consumer brand at the intersection of music, gaming, and social interactivity.”
“Wave matches Griffin’s vision of the future of live events and interactive music experiences” says Sanderson, who was the first investor in groundbreaking companies such as Pandora, Discord and Triller. “The Wave experience captures the emotion of the crowd, provides an immersive platform with the audience and is a natural extension of in-person experiences.”
