Whatnot raises $545M Series G at $20 billion valuation

Whatnot raises $545M Series G at $20 billion valuation

Fri, August 7, 2026 at 8:41 PM GMT+3 2 min read

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Whatnot announced on Friday that it has closed a $545 million Series G round at a $20 billion valuation, the company said. The round was led by ICONIQ, Lightspeed, and Avra.

That figure is close to twice the $11.5 billion valuation Whatnot held after its $225 million Series F last October, according to CNBC. The company has raised approximately $1.5 billion since its 2019 founding, the company said.

New investors in the round include Kleiner Perkins, Wellington Management, and Standard Capital, the firm of former Y Combinator partner Dalton Caldwell, according to Fortune. Returning backers include Andreessen Horowitz, Bond, DST Global, Greycroft, Y Combinator, and Alphabet's CapitalG, which has led three previous rounds in the company dating back to its Series C in 2021.

Whatnot co-founder and CEO Grant LaFontaine said the capital will go toward seller tools, expanded use of AI in the selling experience, new market expansion, and growing buyer reach. "This investment allows us to build better tools, bring AI to more parts of the selling experience, help sellers reach more buyers, expand into new markets, and continue building the world's biggest and most trusted marketplace," LaFontaine said in a statement.

The company said it has already eclipsed its full-year 2025 gross merchandise volume, with over 650,000 people signing up each week. The number of sellers who have crossed $1 million in lifetime sales has more than doubled over the past year, the company said.

The company claims approximately 60% of the U.S. live commerce market, a segment CNBC put at more than $22 billion in value. Still, rivals including eBay, Fanatics, and TikTok Shop Live are making inroads.

LaFontaine told Fortune that pitching in a venture landscape fixated on AI posed challenges, though it also drew backers who were eager to find a differentiated consumer bet with durable network effects. On the question of an eventual public offering, LaFontaine said the company would be prepared when the time comes. "I'd probably prefer to stay private as long as we can," LaFontaine said. "But the calculus changes, and we'll be prepared to go public."