Live-shopping platform Whatnot hits $20 billion valuation with 1980s-style model
Whatnot, a livestream auction app, has been valued at $20 billion after rapidly increasing its worth from $11.5 billion in less than a year.
Whatnot, a livestream-based marketplace that recreates the fast-paced feel of 1980s home-shopping channels, now carries a $20 billion valuation, nearly doubling the $11.5 billion figure recorded ten months prior. The company secured a $225 million financing round after its earlier $265 million raise, which followed a $4.97 billion valuation earlier in the year. Backers include Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia, Lightspeed and Google's CapitalG.
In the last twelve months the app facilitated roughly $8 billion in sales across North America and Europe, while users log more than 80 minutes daily on the platform. Co-founder and CEO Grant LaFontaine, a former YouTube and Facebook product executive, attributes the growth to a strong focus on customer value.
Why it matters
Whatnot's surge shows how a retro-style live-shopping model can achieve tech-scale valuations.
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