TikTok Shop rival Whatnot raises funds at US$5b valuation

WHATNOT Inc., a livestream buying platform that competes with TikTok Shop, raised $265 million at a valuation of $4.97 billion in a funding spherical led by Greycroft Partners, DST Global and Avra.

The startup, which was based in 2019, has emerged as an alternative choice to TikTok’s buying options. Last yr, greater than $3 billion value of products have been bought on Whatnot, together with sneakers, collectibles, vinyl records and purses.

“The alternative for what reside and social commerce can do for sellers and sellers’ companies is fairly super,” Whatnot co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Grant LaFontaine mentioned in an interview. “It’s going to be a type of issues that adjustments each type of class and a part of retail.”

Whatnot, based mostly in Los Angeles, has hundreds of sellers throughout eight international locations together with the U.S., Canada, France and Germany. Over 175,000 hours of livestreams are hosted on the platform every week, in keeping with the corporate.

“It is Instagram meets eBay,” mentioned Val Zapata, a Whatnot vendor and founding father of the Shoe Game Co., which bought over $6 million value of sneakers on the location final yr. “You have a market however it’s a must to entertain these individuals.”

The capacity to show buying into leisure has made reside promoting profitable in components of Asia-Pacific, the place TikTok’s guardian firm ByteDance Ltd. is predicated. TikTok Shop has since emerged as a key a part of that firm’s enterprise within the US, and executives final yr deliberate to promote greater than $17 billion value of products by the platform.

Whatnot’s funding spherical coincides with a looming US ban on TikTok, probably sending a few of its reside sellers to rivals. ByteDance faces a Jan. 19 deadline to promote TikTok within the US although incoming President Donald Trump might intervene.

“We’ll fortunately assist any of these sellers regroup and construct a extremely nice reside and social enterprise,” LaFontaine mentioned.

Whatnot will use its latest funding to rent extra engineers, enhance customer support, develop into new international locations akin to Australia and launch extra classes, together with golf and artwork, LaFontaine mentioned. The startup plans a young provide to repurchase as much as $72 million of its shares. It has raised $746 million from buyers since launch.

Greycroft and Avra are new buyers in Whatnot, together with Lightspeed Venture Partners and Durable Capital Partners, the corporate mentioned. They participated alongside returning buyers Andreessen Horowitz, CapitalG, BOND and Y Combinator. –BLOOMBERG

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January 8, 2025 at 02:58PM