Livestream shopping platform NTWRK raises $50 million

NTWRK, a livestream shopping platform, has raised $50 million in a new funding round, bringing its total amount raised to $60 million, the company said Thursday.

Why it matters: The pandemic dramatically expedited the shift to e-commerce, further increasing the opportunity for platforms like NTWRK to capitalize on growing trends, like live video shopping.

• "I believe that it has accelerated consumer adoption by at least three years, which I believe is an exponential change in our favor," CEO Aaron Levant told Axios.

Catch up quick: NTWRK, which is headquartered in Los Angeles, launched in 2018 with the idea of creating a platform that would mix e-commerce and content. Much of what it focuses on is selling limited-edition merchandise, clothes, shoes and more to Gen-Z and millennial consumers.

Details: The round was led by the Growth Equity business within Goldman Sachs Asset Management (Goldman Sachs) and luxury company Kering, with participation from LionTree Partners and Tenere Capital, per a statement.

• Previous investors include Main Street Advisors (whose investors include Jimmy Iovine, Drake, LeBron James), Live Nation and Foot Locker.
• Allison Berardo, a vice president within the Growth Equity business, will be joining the board of directors at NTWRK.

The primary use of the new capital "will be growing our team and expanding our marketing efforts, as well as growing into new product categories for our marketplace," per Levant.

• He noted that the company also plans to expand into new categories, like sneaker resell, trading cards, vintage and products to attract more female consumers to the platform.

What's next: NTWRK over the last two years has launched the ability for creators to sell NFTs on its platform in addition to selling physical goods. "We intend to continue to add more and more creators to this ever-growing segment of our business," Levant says.