Great Wave Ventures

Great Wave Ventures, formerly known as Agya Ventures, is a New York-based early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2019 by Kunal Lunawat and Managing Partner Nobu Iguchi. The firm invests in exceptional entrepreneurs at the intersection of technology and the built world, focusing on construction technology, real estate and proptech, climate technology, logistics, and sustainable energy across the United States and Japan. The rebrand from Agya to Great Wave Ventures in early 2024 reflects the firm's identity as a bridge between US and Japanese innovation ecosystems, with Japanese institutional investors including Tokyu Construction as limited partners in Fund II. Great Wave deploys $250,000 to $2 million per investment at pre-seed, seed, and Series A stages, with a portfolio of 60 or more startups including 17 Y Combinator graduates. Nobu Iguchi has led investments in more than 50 startups over his career. Notable portfolio activity includes Parspec (construction tech), Penetrator (Series A), and Nickel (fintech), with the exit from Obsess in January 2025. The firm received support from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's Invest Tokyo programme. The US-Japan bridge thesis is central to how Great Wave creates value beyond capital. Founders gain access to a network spanning both markets, including introductions to Japanese institutional buyers and corporate partners who represent significant commercial opportunities for built-world and climate technology companies expanding into Asia. The firm's 3-person team takes a hands-on approach to supporting portfolio companies through their most critical early growth phases.