Collectibles Startup Whatnot Secures $150 mln In Series C Financing

Whatnot, a Los Angeles-based collectibles startup, has closed a $150 million Series C round to expand its live shopping platform in the US:

Some of the firms that participated in the round include Andreessen Horowitz, YC Continuity, and new investor CapitalG, with several angel investors like Andre Iguodala, Logan Paul, Gokul Rajaram, and Nilam Ganenthiran also joining. This round brings the total funding raised by the startup since 2019 to $225 million. Laela Sturdy, General Partner at CapitalG, referred to the potential the firm saw in the startup by stating:

“Whatnot has cracked the code on making online shopping engaging and fun through their community-first approach to livestream shopping. Whatnot’s fusion of entertainment and commerce has created an incredible growth flywheel that accelerates growth on both sides of their marketplace. Shoppers spend hours each week engaged in the app’s content and community, while sellers achieve stronger monetization than is available on other channels. Whatnot has already demonstrated success across multiple categories, and we are thrilled to partner with Grant, Logan and the team on their journey,”

Whatnot was founded in 2019 by Grant Lafontaine and Logan Head as a platform that would allow users to acquire collectibles and other assets while watching and interacting with the seller via a live stream, a format similar to traditional auctions but on a more personal level. Since then, the platform has become one of the biggest live stream shopping platforms, offering all sorts of collectibles. Grant Lafontaine referred to the platform’s recent success by stating:

“The race to ‘win’ live stream shopping in the US has been heating up over the past few years and with the investments we’ve made in our platform, sellers and audience, we are ready to take over. n partnership with our existing investors and CapitalG, we are armed with the capital needed to continue to grow and hire at the pace we need to maintain our position as the largest live stream platform in the United States.”

With live streaming platforms like Twitch bringing live streaming into pop culture, the unique approach toward collectibles developed by Whatnot has become increasingly popular among netizens. The platform developed by the collectibles startup not only brings live feedback to sellers and buyers in real-time but also improves the collectible shopping experience by building a community around it.