About Wave Systems
Wave Systems is a Financial Services company based in Lee (United States) founded in 1996 by Drew Durbin. Cross-border money transfers are enabled via an app-based wallet. Wave Systems has raised $326.26 million across 9 funding rounds from investors including Stripe, Coinbase and National Australia Bank. The company has 5,737 employees. Wave Systems has completed 1 acquisition, including Safend. Wave Systems was last valued at $1.7 billion in July 2022. Its chief executive, as recorded, is Drew Durbin. Its website wave.com draws about 501 thousand monthly visits. Wave Systems offers products and services including Wave App, Bill Payment Service, and Airtime Purchase. Its focus areas include FinTech, Digital Remittance, Internet First Platforms and P2P Remittance. Its legal entity is Wave Mobile Money Inc. Its competitors include MoneyGram, Chipper Cash and Sendwave; 2 of its 3 listed competitors have raised funding.
Company details
Wave Systems was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Lee, United States. Operations are centered in the fintech sector, where an app-based wallet is provided for cross-border money transfers. Services include deposits and withdrawals, bill payments, and mobile recharges, with the app accessible on iOS and Android devices. Focus is placed on facilitating international financial transactions for users.
- Headquarters Lee, United States
- Employees 5,737
- Founders Drew Durbin
- Stage Unicorn
- SectorsFinancial Services
- Website wave.com/en
- Social LinkedIn X Facebook
- Legal Name Wave Mobile Money Inc.
Products & Services of Wave Systems
Wave Systems offers a comprehensive portfolio of products and services, including Wave App, Bill Payment Service, and Airtime Purchase.
App for free deposits, withdrawals, and low-cost money transfers.
Service to pay bills for free via mobile platform.
Instant buying of airtime through the app.
Apps and channels of Wave Systems
Wave Systems publishes 3 mobile apps with over 20M+ downloads.
Funding Insights of Wave Systems
Wave Systems has successfully raised a total of $326.26M across 9 strategic funding rounds. The most recent funding activity was a Debt – Conventional round of $137.38 million completed in July 2025. This substantial capital infusion reflects strong investor confidence in the company's business model, growth potential, and market opportunities. The funding enables strategic expansion, product development, market penetration, and operational scaling to drive long-term value creation and competitive advantage.
- Total Funding $326.26M
- Total Rounds 9
- Last Round Debt – Conventional — $137.38M
- First Round $125,000
(Jun 2012)
- Investors Count 32
All 9 funding rounds of Wave Systems with amounts and investors; the two latest post-money valuations are shown, the rest are part of the premium plan.
| Date | Amount | Transaction Name | Valuation | Lead Investors | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 2025 | $137.38M | Debt – Conventional | – | Rand Merchant Bank | |
| Oct 2022 | $5M | Token Sale | – | – | |
| Jul 2022 | $68.15M | Series A | – | Symbiotics Group, BlueOrchard | |
| Jul 2022 | $24.51M | Debt – Conventional | – | – | |
| Oct 2021 | $5M | Grant | – | – | |
| Sep 2021 | $247.64M | Series A | $1.7B | Sequoia Capital, Founders Fund | |
| May 2016 | $9.53M | Seed | – | – | – |
| Dec 2015 | $825,000 | Seed | – | – | – |
| Jun 2012 | $125,000 | Seed | – | – |
| Date | Valuation | Stage |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2021 | $1.7B | •••••••• |
Full valuation and stage history of Wave Systems
Every valuation point, the growth-stage changes (minicorn, soonicorn, unicorn) and the dates behind them require an active premium plan.
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Last known valuation $1.7B (Jul 2022). 32 investors in total: 31 institutional and 1 angel.
Investors in Wave Systems
Wave Systems has secured backing from 32 investors, including institutional, venture fund, and angel investors. Prominent investors backing the company include Stripe, Coinbase and National Australia Bank.
| Investor | Description | Founded Year | Domain | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
IFC is focused on private sector development in emerging markets. | 1956 | ifc.org | ||
Impact investing is managed through private equity by Symbiotics Group. | symbioticsgroup.com | Geneva, Switzerland | ||
Debt and equity investments are managed by this private fund. | 2001 | blueorchard.com | Zurich, Switzerland | |
Investments in sustainable development projects in developing countries. | finnfund.fi | |||
It invests in developing countries to create jobs and improve lives | 1998 | norfund.no | Oslo, Norway | |
Sequoia Capital is engaged in venture capital investments. | 1972 | sequoiacap.com | ||
Venture capital investments in technology and defense sectors. | foundersfund.com | |||
Early-stage companies in fintech and multiple sectors are invested in. | 2012 | ribbitcap.com | Palo Alto, United States | |
Venture capital is provided to global tech startups and scale-ups. | 1982 | partechpartners.com | Paris, France | |
Early-stage startups are accelerated via funding and educational programs. | ycombinator.com | Mountain View, United States |
Investor details for Wave Systems
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People of Wave Systems
109 people are tracked at Wave Systems (22 in leadership, 87 in team); the tracked headcount is 5,737.
| Name | Role | Group |
|---|---|---|
Drew Durbin | Founder & CEO | Leadership |
Laurence Elong-Mbassi | Head of Compliance | Leadership |
Ruth Lee | CTO | Leadership |
Mamadou Sanou | Head Of Operations | Leadership |
Yaya Diakite | Head Of Finance Wave Senegal | Leadership |
Emily Austin | Chief People Officer | Leadership |
Oumar Camara | Regional Head Of Finance | Leadership |
Amraj Bassi | IT Operations Director | Leadership |
Kevin Odiorne | Head of Finance | Leadership |
Brice Ossohou M'Bodi | Head Of Operations | Leadership |
Sid Sridhar | Head of Business | Leadership |
Jackie Ochola | General Manager | Leadership |
Thierno Souleymane Thiello | Head Of Treasury (sn, Bj, Tg) | Leadership |
Stephanie S. | Head Of Product And Engineering - Wave Digital Finance | Leadership |
Nneka Madubugwu | Head Of People Experience And Culture | Leadership |
Armel Assohou | Head Of Communication & Publics Relations | Leadership |
Sarah Bou-Rhodes | Sr Director Of People Technology | Leadership |
Isaac Perez Moncho | Director Of Engineering -- Platform | Leadership |
Mame Marame Gueye | Head Of Sales | Leadership |
Nadia Dosh | Head Of Operations | Leadership |
89 more people are available in the full profile.
Complete people profiles for Wave Systems
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Investments & Acquisitions by Wave Systems
Wave Systems has strategically engaged in corporate development activities, having acquired 1 company. Notable acquisitions include Safend.
| Company Name | Description | Domain | Location | Founded | Acquired | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Data security and compliance solutions are provided for sensitive sectors. | safend.com | Herzliya, Israel | 1988 | Sep 2011 | •••• |
Complete acquisition details for Wave Systems
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Timeline of Wave Systems
5 dated milestones of Wave Systems across 29 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.
- Founded Wave Systems is founded.
- Acquisition Acquires Safend.
- Funding First funding round of $125K.
- Milestone Reaches Unicorn status.
- Funding Latest funding round, Debt – Conventional, of $137.4M.
Competitors of Wave Systems
Wave Systems has 3 listed competitors in our database, 2 of them funded. They include MoneyGram, Chipper Cash and Sendwave.
| Company Name | Domain | Founded | HQ Location | Total funding | Employees | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| moneygram.com | 1940 | Dallas, United States | Cross-border payments are enabled via wallet solutions for consumers. | |||
| chippercash.com | 2018 | San Francisco, United States | $305M | Cross-border remittances are enabled for individuals through a mobile wallet. | ||
| sendwave.com | 2011 | Boston, United States | $13.8M | 339 | Cross-border money transfers are facilitated through a mobile wallet service. |
Detailed competitors of Wave Systems
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Web traffic of Wave Systems
The website of Wave Systems (wave.com) receives about 500.7K visits a month.
- Monthly visits500.7K
▼ 0.6% vs previous month
Websites whose visitors overlap most with Wave Systems. Affinity shows how closely the audiences match.
| Website | Domain | Audience affinity | Monthly visits | Global rank | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
legato.com | legato.com | 100% | – | ||
| proxim.com | 100% | 6.6K | #3,095,880 | View details | |
| coreel.com | 100% | 15.4K | #1,176,635 | View details | |
| intertrust.com | 87% | 7.1K | #2,432,269 | View details | |
| wavemoney.com.mm | 85% | 12.3K | #1,641,650 | View details | |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
All 37 similar websites and full traffic analytics for Wave Systems
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Top companies in Payments & Remittance Platforms
3 companies that operate in the same segment as Wave Systems (Payments & Remittance Platforms) in United States, ranked by their profile score on The Company Check.
| Company | Description | Founded | Location | Total funding | Revenue | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Payment processing and card issuance solutions are provided for businesses. | 2009 | San Francisco, California, United States | USD 9.81 B | 16,622 | ||
Cloud-based accounts payable and receivable software for businesses | 2006 | Palo Alto, California, United States | USD 325.6 M | USD 1.65 B | 3,108 | |
Spend management and accounts payable solutions are delivered to businesses. | 2019 | New York, New York, United States | USD 5.07 B | 6,209 |
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Related news about Wave Systems
Complete news archive for Wave Systems
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Frequently Asked Questions about Wave Systems
Wave Systems was founded in 1996 and raised its 1st funding round 16 years after it was founded.
Wave Systems is headquartered in Lee, United States. It is registered at Lee, Massachusetts, United States.
Drew Durbin is the CEO of Wave Systems, as recorded in our data. They have also founded this company.
Wave Systems is a funded company, having raised a total of $326.26M across 9 funding rounds to date. The company's 1st funding round was a Seed of $125K, raised on Jun 2012.
Wave Systems has 5,737 employees.
Wave Systems was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Lee, United States. Operations are centered in the fintech sector, where an app-based wallet is provided for cross-border money transfers. Services include deposits and withdrawals, bill payments, and mobile recharges, with the app accessible on iOS and Android devices. Focus is placed on facilitating international financial transactions for users.
Wave Systems's top competitors include Chipper Cash, MoneyGram and Sendwave.
Wave Systems offers Wave App, Bill Payment Service, and Airtime Purchase.
Wave Systems has made 1 acquisition, including Safend.
Wave Systems has 32 investors. Key investors include Stripe, Coinbase, National Australia Bank, Kleiner Perkins, and Royal Bank of Canada.
The valuation of Wave Systems is $1.7B as of Jul 2022.
Wave Systems operates through Wave Mobile Money Inc..