Live commerce platform Whatnot has raised $225 million in a new funding round, co-led by DST Global and CapitalG, the independent growth fund backed by Alphabet.
The round also included participation from Sequoia Capital, Alkeon Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Greycroft, and BOND. It values the Los Angeles-based company at $11.5 billion, according to multiple reports.
The fresh capital underscores investor confidence in Whatnot’s rapid growth and the broader live-shopping category, which blends entertainment, community engagement and real-time purchasing. Founded in 2019 by Grant LaFontaine and Logan Head, Whatnot began as a live auction marketplace for collectibles such as trading cards and sneakers. It has since expanded into more than 140 categories across fashion, home goods, electronics and vintage items.
How Whatnot will use its funding
In announcing the funding, LaFontaine said the investment signals how much live commerce has evolved over the past few years.
“The conversation around live shopping has changed,” LaFontaine said. “We’re no longer asking if it will catch on. Whatnot is proving that live shopping is retail’s new normal.”
“This funding represents both investor conviction and consumer confidence in our vision for the future of live commerce,” he added. “With this capital, we will create more opportunities to help sellers build profitable businesses from their passions to delight buyers around the globe.”
Whatnot said it will use the funding to expand internationally, strengthen trust and safety systems, and roll out new tools that make selling simpler and more scalable. The company plans to invest heavily in marketing and partnerships to reach new buyers, aiming to raise both its audience and the visibility of its sellers.
The Series F round follows Whatnot’s $265 million Series E raise earlier this year, which valued the company at about $5 billion. That rapid increase in valuation highlights the surging investor appetite for live-commerce platforms, even as competitors like TikTok Shop, Amazon Live, and YouTube Shopping jockey for positions in the nascent Western market.
Whatnot claims it has surpassed $6 billion in gross merchandise value (GMV) so far this year and has become the No. 1 shopping app in Apple’s App Store. Continued focus on seller tools, community interaction and real-time engagement has helped it carve out a strong niche in a fast-changing ecommerce landscape.
As Whatnot scales, its success will depend on balancing growth with the authenticity that has fueled its rise — a challenge that will evaluate how far live, human-led commerce can go in reshaping how people shop.
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