Whatnot has raised $545 million in a new funding round that values the live-shopping marketplace at$20 billion, nearly doubling its valuation from October.
The Los Angeles-based company said the latest round was led by investors including ICONIQ, Lightspeed and Avra. Whatnot is also backed by venture capital firms including Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia CapitalandCapitalG.
Founded in 2019, Whatnot operates a marketplace where sellers conduct live video auctions for products ranging from sports cards and apparel to collectibles and other merchandise. Viewers bid on products in real time, with some auctions lasting only seconds per item. Whatnot generates revenue by taking a percentage of transactions completed through its platform.
The latest financing brings Whatnot’s total capital raised since its founding to approximately $1.5 billion. The company said it plans to use the new funding to help sellers expand their businesses and to continue investing in trust and safety across its marketplace.
Whatnot has reported significant growth in 2026. The company said gross merchandise volume during the first half of the year surpassed the $8 billion recorded during all of 2025. Its buyer base has more than doubled over the past 12 months, while sellers now host more than 550,000 hours of live programming on the platform each week.
The $20 billion valuation puts the privately held company above the current market capitalizations of several established publicly traded retailers, including Best Buy, Lululemon Athletica and Wayfair.
The platform’s rapid expansion has also attracted scrutiny. More than 70 people have pursued arbitration claims alleging that aspects of Whatnot’s platform amount to unregulated gambling The company has disputed that characterization, saying its platform does not enable gambling and that its internal and external data have not identified addiction or overspending as significant issues
Whatnot has also said it has implemented measures designed to combat fraud and strengthen protections for users as the marketplace grows.
