Currently the live commerce platform employs roughly 130 people across Ireland, with plans to add across a number of its teams.
Whatnot, a live commerce platform with a presence in North America, the UK and Europe, has officially opened its new European headquarters in Dublin.
Whatnot was established in 2019 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. The company enables individuals and small business owners to sell their products via a live video feed, where they can show their wares, answer questions and take orders.
The organisation employs more than 130 people in Ireland and intends to double its workforce over the course of the next 18 months, as well as open its platform to small Irish businesses. The new roles will be in engineering and AI, operations, strategy, trust and safety.
Currently Whatnot’s Dublin engineers focus on the core of the platform, that is the buying and selling flows, payment systems and infrastructure. The new AI engineering roles will involve developing tools that take admin work away from the seller, so they can redirect their focus elsewhere.
Commenting on the announcement, Grant LaFontaine, the co-founder and CEO of Whatnot, said, “The depth of engineering and AI talent coming out of Ireland’s universities is a big part of why we keep growing the team here. Sellers around the world rely on what our Dublin engineers build every day to grow their businesses, and there’s a lot more to build.
“We’re also opening the platform to small businesses in Ireland next year, so local shops and entrepreneurs can reach the people already shopping on Whatnot in Ireland and around the world, who will then be able to discover the creativity and talent of Irish businesses and entrepreneurs.”
The Minister of State for the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment Alan Dillon, TD, said, “I warmly welcome Whatnot’s decision to establish its new European headquarters in Dublin and to significantly expand its Irish workforce over the coming months.
“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.”
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