Waveful, the community-driven platform for making friends online, announces a $2.1 million Seed investment round, with participation from leading international funds and business angels. Among the main investors are a16z Speedrun, the Andreessen Horowitz program dedicated to top global consumer and gaming apps, Italian Angels for Growth (IAG), Vento Ventures, Zest, Vesper Holding, and a select group of Italian and American angels, including Andrea Ruosi, Vito Lomele, Nick Swift, Simone Cimminelli, Tommaso Tosi, Vincenzo Alagna, Omar Bertoni, Andrea D’Aietti, and Jesse Chor.
Founded in 2020 by Steven and Dennis Motta (born in 2003 and 1997), Waveful is a social platform that helps people create authentic connections through shared passions. In a world where loneliness is increasingly widespread, Waveful aims to build digital spaces for making new friends and meaningful communities.
The all-equity deal marks an important step for the startup, which has achieved unprecedented results for a social platform born in Italy, both in terms of market traction and capital raised.
In less than six months, Waveful has surpassed three million downloads, recording monthly growth of over 200% in the past year and generating more than $1 million in sales entirely through a B2C model. Its engagement and retention metrics place Waveful consistently in the top 10 percentile globally among social platforms, consolidating its position as one of Europe’s most promising consumer-tech projects.
The capital raised will be used to further strengthen Waveful’s presence in the United States, with the goal of reaching half a million U.S. users within twelve months, and to enhance the product with new AI-based features, reinforcing Waveful’s positioning as a cutting-edge social platform. At the same time, the team will be expanded with 4–6 new hires in the next three months, primarily in engineering, growth, and marketing roles.
During the a16z Speedrun program, Waveful stood out as the fastest-growing company as well as the only fully Italian startup, and its founder was the youngest in the batch. Waveful thus confirms itself as one of the most dynamic Italian consumer startups, capable of revolutionizing the way people build online communities and consolidating its trajectory among the world’s most relevant social platforms—not only for the size of its round but also for its ability to compete internationally with scalable products powered by strong technology and solid, fast-growing market metrics.
“Being selected by a16z Speedrun as the only Italian company and becoming the fastest-growing startup within the program was an incredible recognition, both for the team and for the vision we’ve built since the beginning,” said Steven Motta, CEO and co-founder of Waveful. “This round gives us the resources to accelerate our U.S. expansion, invest in AI-first technology, and attract new talent. But above all, it represents a decisive step toward achieving our ultimate goal: becoming the number one community platform in the world.”
“We believe the next generation of social apps will move from attention monetization to creating true marketplaces for creators and fans, where creators can directly monetize their activities. Waveful is building this future, and we are thrilled to support them on their journey,” commented Robin Guo, Investment Partner at a16z.