In AI-obsessed Silicon Valley, live commerce platform Whatnot just notched a new funding round valuing it at $20 billion

Live commerce platform Whatnot announced it raised a $545 million Series G funding round valuing the company at $20 billion, nearly doubling its valuation from $11.5 billion in October 2025, according to Fortune. The round was led by ICONIQ, Lightspeed and Avra and included new investors Kleiner Perkins, Wellington Management and Standard Capital. Returning investors include Andreessen Horowitz, Bond, DST Global, Greycroft, Y Combinator and Alphabet's CapitalG. CEO Grant LaFontaine said fundraising can be difficult because many venture firms are focused exclusively on artificial intelligence deals. He said the company pulls its own multiples back into a valuation range it feels it can grow into with relative confidence. CapitalG managing partner Laela Sturdy said the biggest change since the firm's first investment in 2021 is the sheer scale and complexity of the business. Whatnot has now raised about $1.5 billion since its 2019 founding and recently crossed one billion orders. The platform spans hundreds of categories across multiple countries. The company has faced concerns that the platform encourages gambling-like spending, though Whatnot says it bans all gambling-style activity and enforces this through seller requirements and controls.