Whatnot, the largest live shopping platform in the U.S., UK, and Europe, announced $225 million in Series F funding, co-led by DST Global and CapitalG.
New investors Sequoia Capital and Alkeon Capital joined the round, alongside returning investors Greycroft, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), avra, and BOND.
This new financing values Whatnot at $11.5 billion, more than double its valuation at the start of 2025. Millions of people connect daily on the platform, as small businesses build loyal and engaged communities of repeat customers. Customer retention now exceeds 80% month-over-month, up 18% from a year ago. As a result, company momentum is at an all-time high. Whatnot’s gross merchandise value (GMV) for 2025 has already surpassed $6 billion, more than twice its total for all of 2024.
“The conversation around live shopping has changed. We’re no longer asking if it will catch on. Whatnot is proving that live shopping is retail’s new normal,” said Grant LaFontaine, co-founder and CEO of Whatnot. “This funding represents both investor conviction and consumer confidence in our vision for the future of live commerce. With this capital, we will create more opportunities to help sellers build profitable businesses from their passions to delight buyers around the globe.”
The company remains focused on delivering the best shopping experience for its community. Whatnot will use the funding to continue to make strategic investments in its platform, rolling out new features and evolving its policies to build the most trusted marketplace anywhere. The company is also accelerating its international expansion, while scaling its engineering, talent acquisition, marketing, and sales functions. Along with the funding, Whatnot will facilitate a tender offer where select, current investors will buy up to $126 million worth of shares, underscoring its continued investment in its over 900 employees.
“Whatnot brought the live shopping wave to the US, the UK, and Europe and has turned it into one of the fastest growing marketplaces of all time. The brand’s explosive growth, loyal community, and relentless execution in service of its buyers and sellers make it one of the most exciting bets in commerce today,” said Laela Sturdy, Whatnot board member and Managing Partner at CapitalG, Alphabet’s independent growth fund.
"E-commerce adoption remains far from saturated globally, with vast markets still predominantly offline. Whatnot capitalizes on this opportunity through live shopping and strategic curation of emerging categories,” said Alfred Lin, Partner at Sequoia Capital. “Grant and the Whatnot team have turned passion into a powerful business, and we are proud to be a part of their growing community.”
The company has raised approximately $968 million since its founding in 2019.