Whatnot announces another fundraising round, valuation now up to $11.5bn

Following a major fundraising round earlier this year, Whatnot, the largest live shopping platform in the US, UK, and Europe, has announced $225 million in Series F funding co-led by DST Global and CapitalG with new investors also coming on board.

It has raised approximately $968 million since its founding in 2019 and the new round doubles its valuation to $11.5 billion, “underscoring strong investor confidence and consumer adoption of live shopping as the new standard of commerce”.

The funding will support “strategic platform investments, including new features, international expansion, and scaling engineering, marketing, sales, and talent acquisition”. 

Its new valuation is more than double the figure at which it was valued at the start of this year and comes as “millions of people connect daily on the platform, as small businesses build loyal and engaged communities of repeat customers”. 

The company — which recently launched into the sportswear category in the UK — said customer retention now exceeds 80% month-on-month, up 18% from a year ago. As a result, “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”.

Co-founder and CEO Grant LaFontaine said: “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. 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.”

And Laela Sturdy, Whatnot board member and managing partner at CapitalG, added: “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.”