[DigitalToday reporter Chi-gyu Hwang] Live shopping platform Whatnot raised $545 million in a Series G funding round, winning a valuation of $20 billion.
CNBC reported on Aug. 7 that Whatnot's valuation nearly doubled in less than a year.
Iconiq, Lightspeed and Avra led the funding round.
The company said more than 650,000 new users join the platform each week, and it has already surpassed last year's gross merchandise value of $8 billion.
The number of buyers also more than doubled over the past year.
Whatnot plans to use the funds to expand support for sellers. Co-founder and CEO Grant LaFontaine (그랜트 라폰테인) said it will build better tools, expand the application of AI across the selling experience to help sellers reach more buyers, and pursue expansion into new markets.
Whatnot's rising valuation comes as the live commerce market grows. Whatnot said the market is worth more than $22 billion and that it has a market share of more than 60 percent. But competition is intensifying with eBay, Fanatics and TikTok Shop Live, CNBC reported.
Chi-gyu Hwang
delight@d-today.co.kr