Live commerce platform Whatnot is to double its Irish workforce in the next 18 months as it expands its European headquarters in Dublin.
The company is also planning to open the platform to Irish sellers in 2027.
Whatnot, which has been operating in Ireland for the past four years, currently employs 130 people. It is targeting close to 300 in the near future, with roles in engineering, artificial intelligence (AI), operations, strategy, and trust and safety being created.
The platform allows businesses and individuals to sell through live video, demonstrating products and taking orders in real time. The first half of the year saw sellers generate more than €6.8 billion in sales.
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The Dublin team plays an important role in keeping the platform working, reliable and secure, working on payments, buying and selling flows and infrastructure. The expansion will see new AI engineering recruits build tools to help reduce admin tasks for sellers, from product listings to post-show tasks.
Cofounder and chief executive Grant LaFontaine said the company had been building quietly in recent years. It also has an office in Berlin, but the focus is on growing the team in Dublin.
“The vast majority of hiring is happening in Dublin, so it is the biggest office outside the US and it will be for a while,” he said.
“Six years ago we had 10 people, so to go from that to 1,400 [globally], it is quite a large sum.”
There are Irish buyers on the platform, with the number of people in Ireland shopping on Whatnot each month has grown almost fivefold over the past two years, but officially Whatnot has not opened to Irish sellers. That has left most orders filled by sellers in the UK, Germany and the US. That will change next year, with Whatnot opening to Irish businesses.
The news of the expansion was welcomed by Minister of State at Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment Alan Dillon.
“The company’s plan to double its team in Ireland, creating high-quality jobs across engineering, AI, operations, and trust and safety, is a strong endorsement of the exceptional talent available here and of Ireland’s attractiveness as a location for innovation,” he said.
IDA Ireland’s executive director Mary Buckley said the decision demonstrated strong confidence in Ireland’s technology ecosystem and skilled workforce.
