/Companies

Upwave

YC S12

San Francisco, US · Founded 2012 · 50 employees · 15 known investors

Find your way into Upwave

Sign up to see every warm intro you have to Upwave

  • Paths you didn't know you had: your email and LinkedIn already hold routes to the Upwave team. We find them for you
  • 2nd- and 3rd-degree connections: the friend-of-a-friend routes that take hours to manually find through your inbox or LinkedIn
  • Answers now, not in days: momentum is everything in a raise. Skip asking around whether someone knows someone

Days of research, done the moment you sign in, with every route ranked by how warm it is.

Upwave provides brand measurement and advertising research technology for top-of-funnel marketing campaigns, helping brands and agencies validate reach, measure lift, and optimize performance. The platform serves advertisers, agencies, and media companies through data-driven insights and analytics.

Also known as Notokel, Inc. · Survata

Founders & leadership· Y Combinator alumni (S12)

Upwave was founded in 2012 by Chris Kelly.

CKChris Kelly
Chris KellyCEO & Founder
GLGeorge London
George LondonCTOGeorge London is a software engineering leader with experience building data-intensive cloud-based SaaS products and managing cross-functional engineering teams spanning web, data engineering, data science, mobile, and DevOps. He has worked as an entrepreneur and manager in the Bay Area, specializing in products involving large datasets and data-driven decision-making systems.
AB
Ajey BhirHead of Finance
KI
Kendra IngramSenior Manager, Talent Acquisition
MF
Matus FaroEngineering Manager
AW
Aaron WengerCTO2012–2014
AS
Ashley Shin
JW
Jim Warner
AS
Anil SippyRecruitingformer
SB
Sunaina Bara-SahaRecruiterformer
BN
Brett NewmanRecruiterformer

Investors · 15

General CatalystreportedSan Francisco · $30M

How we know: Y Combinator's founder network · Not right? Tell us

PIVOTNORTHreportedAtherton

How we know: upwave.com · Y Combinator's founder network · Not right? Tell us

Start Capitalreported

How we know: Y Combinator's founder network · Not right? Tell us

SV AngelreportedSan Francisco · $150K – $20M

How we know: Y Combinator's founder network · Not right? Tell us

Tom Chavezreported

How we know: Y Combinator's founder network · Not right? Tell us

Also in the syndicate · 1

IDG Ventureslead

Funding

SEC filings, press & company announcements

Source: company announcements and press reports — follow each round's link for the claim.

Related companies · 7

SurveyMonkeySurveyMonkey is an online platform for creating surveys and forms to run market research, customer satisfaction, event registration, and employee feedback programs. It offers AI-assisted survey building, expert templates, a global respondent panel, analytics tools, and integrations for individuals, teams, and enterprise organizations.
ClientifyClientify is an all-in-one CRM for small and medium-sized businesses that unifies lead capture, email marketing, WhatsApp and social/inbox messaging, sales pipelines, automations and real-time reporting in one platform. It targets SMB sales teams and includes AI features for conversation summaries, suggested replies and lead prioritization, plus B2B contact search and CRM migration support.</parameter> <parameter name="sector_codes">["saas", "salestech", "martech"]
GallupGallup conducts global research and analytics on employee engagement, wellbeing, and workplace performance, and offers a workplace performance platform along with tools like CliftonStrengths. It serves organizations seeking to measure and improve human potential and workforce outcomes.
PewresearchPew Research Center is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization that conducts surveys and studies on public opinion, behavior, and societal trends across topics like politics, religion, education, health, and jobs. The organization serves leaders, policymakers, and the general public by providing fact-based research and data to inform public dialogue and decision-making.
University of British ColumbiaThe University of British Columbia is a public university offering academic programs, research, and campus events across areas such as environmental science, business, music, and agriculture. It serves students, faculty, staff, and the public in British Columbia, Canada.
SurveySparrowSurveySparrow is an omnichannel experience management platform built around conversational, chat-style surveys designed to increase response rates. It offers feedback and survey tools for businesses to collect and act on customer and employee feedback.
GelatoThe global on-demand print platform

Companies working in the same space as Upwave.

Legal entities · 2

corporate structure
Notokel, Inc.
Upwave, Inc.

In the news

Frequently asked questions

What does Upwave do?
Upwave provides brand measurement and advertising research technology for top-of-funnel marketing campaigns, helping brands and agencies validate reach, measure lift, and optimize performance. The platform serves advertisers, agencies, and media companies through data-driven insights and analytics.
Who founded Upwave?
Upwave was founded by Chris Kelly in 2012.
Who are Upwave's investors?
Upwave's investors include Conductive Ventures, Ridge Ventures, Initialized Capital, Uncork Capital, Y Combinator, Andreessen Horowitz, Bloomberg Beta, General Catalyst and 6 more.
Where is Upwave headquartered?
Upwave is headquartered in San Francisco, US.