Whatnot acquires Shaped to power real-time live shopping recommendations

In a significant move to enhance its live shopping platform, Whatnot has announced the acquisition of Shaped, a company recognized for its expertise in machine learning and real-time recommendation systems. This strategic acquisition aims to bolster Whatnot's ability to provide personalized product suggestions as it ventures into new product areas and attracts millions of buyers. The integration of Shaped's technology is particularly vital for addressing a core challenge in live commerce: assisting shoppers in finding the right products amidst rapidly changing inventories, auction dynamics, and buyer interests. Unlike conventional e-commerce sites with static inventories, Whatnot operates in a fast-paced environment where auctions can conclude in moments or extend for hours. Emmanuel Fuentes, VP of Data and AI at Whatnot, emphasized the importance of speed in recommendations, stating that the nature of live commerce presents unique complexities. The company has dedicated the last six years to refining its recommendation engine, achieving a remarkable reduction in recommendation latency from a full day to just minutes. With Shaped's technology, Whatnot anticipates further advancements toward real-time recommendations. Currently, Whatnot's systems process an astonishing 500,000 hours of live video and millions of interactions each week, using this data to enhance the recommendation process continuously. Founded to assist businesses in creating AI-driven recommendation systems, Shaped utilized a blend of customer data and large language models to offer highly tailored search and discovery experiences. Its client base included notable names like Outdoorsy and QVC. Following the acquisition, Tullie Murrell, Shaped's founder and CEO, along with several engineers and AI researchers, will join Whatnot, with Murrell spearheading the newly established Applied AI Research group. Murrell's background includes experience at Meta prior to founding Shaped. This acquisition comes at a time of rapid growth for Whatnot, which was launched in 2019 and has recently reported that its sellers have surpassed one billion orders. Earlier this year, Whatnot secured $225 million in Series F funding, leading to a valuation exceeding $11 billion, bolstered by the addition of 20 million buyers in the past year. The platform has also expanded its marketplace significantly, introducing over 35 new categories last year and more than 45 additional categories in the first half of 2025, with new subcategories rolling out regularly. This strategic acquisition positions Whatnot to stay competitive as major resale platforms like eBay and Poshmark also integrate AI into their operations.