US online shopping platform Whatnot completes $50 million in Series B financing

Whatnot announced today that it has raised $50 million in Series B funding led by Y Combinator Continuity’s Anu Hariharan, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz.

Whatnot is a live streaming platform and marketplace that allows collectors and enthusiasts to connect with their community to buy and sell verified products on a secure platform. The company is headquartered in Los Angeles, California and has 40 employees.

Founded in 2019 by Grant Lafontaine and Logan Head, Whatnot has become the largest livestream shopping platform in the U.S. by purchase volume in less than two years. The company has raised $75 million in venture funding to date and has expanded from collectibles like FunkoPop and Pokemon cards to a wide range of collectibles including comic books, sports cards, and TCGs like YuGiOh, Dragon Ball Z, and more.

“Logan and I have been buying and selling collectibles online since the early days of the internet, and while others may be surprised by the attention the category has received over the past year, we are tapping into a community we’ve always known was there,” said Grant Lafontaine, co-founder and CEO of Whatnot.

The company started with collectibles like FunkoPops and Pokemon cards and has now expanded to nearly 15 categories on the app. Sports cards in particular have been the latest boost to the business, with sales increasing 80-fold since launching in January 2021. It has become Whatnot’s largest category on the platform, earning millions of dollars per month during live stream card breaks and sales.

Roger Caneda, Whatnot seller at World Card Traders said : "I worked in the esports space for years, buying and selling childhood favorites like Pokémon and sports cards as a fun side hustle on evenings and weekends . Now it has become my full-time job. Turning my passion into a full-time business would have never been possible without Whatnot."

Whatnot's live shopping platform captures the excitement of in-person experiences, allowing communities and fans to connect in real time and gawk at holy grail pieces and new products with their favorite sellers . The fact that it has grown so quickly in such a short period of time is inseparable from the popularity of its live streaming format, and also reflects the vastness of the American collection market.

Online Shopping

E-commerce

USA