Story thread · 2 reports / 2 sources

This throwback app is competing with Big Tech — using a business model out of the 1980s

theblaze.com · 5d · first reportShare

The future of commerce is not some complex algorithm; it's essentially the same as it has been since the 1980s. That's the gambit of a hugely successful new company putting up numbers that rival tech's biggest. Its latest valuation is a monstrous $20 billion , which is already a huge leap from its October 2025 numbers. The company has nearly doubled its valuation in those 10 months, up from $11.5 billion which secured an investment of $225 million . That $11.5 billion valuation came less than a year after the company raised $265 million in January 2025 off of a $4.97 billion valuation. This all means that the commerce app has quadrupled its value in about 18 months, something very rarely seen in its sector. And that has the industry buzzing. 'We only exist to the extent that we provide our customers a lot of value.' Meet Whatnot. It's based on an incredibly simple idea. Picture a cable channel with a 1-800 number, but it's a livestream on your smartphone or computer. That simple differ