Live stream shopping platform Whatnot has raised $50 million in Series B funding and says it plans to “double down” on selling sports cards and memorabilia.
The investment was led by Anu Hariharan from Y Combinator Continuity, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz. They join investors Animal, musicians Ryan Tedder and DJ Skee with Mint 10, NFL players DeAndre Hopkins and Bobby Wagner, and internet entrepreneur/TV producer Jeremy Padawer, among others.
Founded in 2019 by Grant Lafontaine and Logan Head, Whatnot says it has become the biggest live stream shopping platform in the U.S. by purchase. Based in Los Angeles, the company currently has 40 employees.
Whatnot has now raised a total of $75 million in venture funding to date and has expanded from collectibles like FunkoPop and Pokemon cards to a wide range of collectibles including sports cards, comic books and YuGiOh, Dragon Ball Z, and Magic: The Gathering cards. Users can sell spots in breaks and auction off cards to the Whatnot community during live shows.
“Logan and I have been buying and selling collectibles online since the early days of the internet, and while others might be surprised by the attention the category has received in the past year, we are tapping into a community we’ve always known was there,” said Whatnot co-founder and CEO Grant Lafontaine. “We’re thrilled that Whatnot has resonated with the collector and enthusiast communities and we’re excited to use these funds to continue to expand and grow the team.”
Whatnot says sports cards have been “a recent driving force” with sales growing 80x since the company launched the category at the beginning of the year, with millions of dollars in monthly sales during live stream card breaks and sales. Its app is available on Android and iOS.
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