Live-shopping platform Whatnot announced a US$225 million funding round this week and plans to significantly grow its Seattle operations, hiring more than 75 employees over next six months across engineering, product and customer operations. Based in Seattle and serving niche communities of collectors and enthusiasts, Whatnot has tripled its local headcount and is targeting rapid scale in live-commerce and community engagement. The fresh capital will fund logistics enhancements, platform improvements and international expansion. Investors pointed to strong user engagement and rising monetisation as key to the raise.