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Startups & Venture·August 7, 2026·1 min read

Livestream shopping app Whatnot raised a $545M Series G led by Iconiq, Lightspeed, and Avra at a $20B valuation, up from an $11.5B valuation in October 2025

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A $545M Series G at a $20B valuation for Whatnot says live commerce is now treated as core infrastructure for consumer demand, not a side bet. Any consumer brand without a real-time, personality-driven sales channel is leaving conversion and data on the table.

Startups & Venture

Ad measurement company VideoAmp laid off ~20% of staff this week, citing AI as a "major platform shift"; sources: 50-60 employees were cut, including its CTO

Calling AI a ‘major platform shift’ while cutting ~20% of staff — including the CTO — is a clear signal that adtech is bracing for margin compression and automation. If you sell into marketing or measurement, expect buyers to push harder on AI-native efficiency and vendor consolidation over the next 12 months.