# Wave Capital

Wave Capital is a Private Equity based in San Francisco, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Private Equity
- **Headquarters:** San Francisco, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** San Francisco, CA, United States
- **Founded:** 2018
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** wave.capital
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/wavecapital

## Regulatory record

- **CRD number:** 299004
- **SEC file number:** 802-121804
- **Registration status:** Registered
- **Reports private funds:** Yes
- **IAPD record:** https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/299004

## About

Wave is a seed fund based in San Francisco, run by two equal partners and no staff. The portfolio is highly concentrated and selective: they only lead and make no more than four investments per year. They look for businesses with a clear mission and founders they would want to work for, and bring operating backgrounds from building teams at Airbnb, Dropbox and Facebook.

## Sectors

- Enterprise Software
- AI/ML
- FinTech
- Digital Health
- Industrial Tech

## People

- Sarah Tavel — General Partner
- David Rosenthal — General Partner
- Riley Newman — General Partner

## Questions

### Who runs investment decisions at Wave Capital?

Three equal general partners — Sarah Tavel, David Rosenthal, and Riley Newman — jointly make all investment decisions. Tavel joined from Benchmark and Greylock, where she led consumer and enterprise deals; Rosenthal was previously a general partner at Matrix Partners; Newman led data science at Airbnb before co-founding Wave. The firm has not publicly delegated decision-making authority to non-partner investment professionals, preserving a flat partnership structure typical of small early-stage managers.

### How does Wave Capital source proprietary deal flow?

Wave relies on a systematic, data-driven market-mapping process rather than the warm-introduction networks that dominate early-stage venture. The firm's internal analyst function models entire market structures — mapping all existing companies, technical architectures, and economic bottlenecks — before searching for founding teams positioned to capture the most defensible wedge. The approach was explicitly designed by the partners to surface founders whom traditional top-tier firms miss because those founders operate outside standard referral channels.

### Does Wave participate in fund commitments or only direct deals?

Wave's disclosed strategy is exclusively direct investments into early-stage operating companies, with no indication of fund-of-funds commitments, secondary purchases, or co-investment vehicles. The firm's small fund size and concentrated portfolio construction both point to a hands-on approach to company-building rather than diversified-fund exposure.

## Related profiles

- [Wave3 Capital](https://altss.com/profile/wave3-capital)
- [Wavecrest Growth Partners](https://altss.com/profile/wavecrest-growth-partners)

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Last updated: 2026-08-11T15:08:32.892Z

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