What Palmstreet does

Palmstreet, legally Plant Identification Inc., is a mobile-first live shopping marketplace headquartered in Menlo Park, California. Founded in April 2020 as "Plant Story" — a plant identification app — the company pivoted into live commerce and rebranded as Palmstreet, evolving into a horizontal marketplace for niche collectors and hobbyists across rare plants, designer toys, jewelry, coins and bullion, crystals, fashion, beauty, aquatics, and reptiles. The platform pairs real-time livestream selling (over 100,000 livestreams hosted by February 2026) with a traditional marketplace containing over 1 million listings, supporting both fixed-price and auction formats including Live-Stream Auctions and Long-Form Listing Auctions.

The product is delivered through native iOS and Android applications with a supporting web storefront, built on Firebase (Realtime Database, Authentication, Cloud Messaging, Analytics, Crashlytics) and integrated with Stripe and PayPal for payments, Klarna/Affirm/Afterpay for buy-now-pay-later, ShipStation for fulfillment, and YouTube API for simulcasting livestreams to external audiences. Community-driven engagement features — Palmie's Choice Awards, weekly LIVE Trivia, the Purge flash-sale format, and co-streaming — drive top-of-funnel demand and have produced standout engagement signals including 686,000+ comments on a single promotional post.

The business model combines marketplace commissions on transactions (with a free seller tier offering rates described as more competitive than peers), transaction-based add-on fees (6%+$0.30 for installment payment processing), shipping label pass-through revenue, and a Pro Member subscription for power sellers. Buyer acquisition relies on a referral program, Instagram-driven community activations, and event partnerships such as the DesignerCon 2026 designer toy launch. The platform serves US-based buyers and sellers only, with the company backed by $25 million in disclosed funding from Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Craft Ventures, and Headline, led by CEO and co-founder Chen Li.

Name

Palmstreet

Legal name

Plant Identification Inc.

Website

https://palmstreet.app

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Palmstreet is a US mobile-first live shopping marketplace serving niche collectors and hobbyists across plants, designer toys, fashion, beauty, jewelry, and collectibles. Founded in 2020 as Plant Story, it pairs real-time livestream commerce with a million-plus listing marketplace, monetizing via transaction fees and subscriptions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Live Shopping Marketplace

NAICS

Sporting Goods, Hobby, Musical Instrument, Book, and Miscellaneous Retailers (459), Used Merchandise Retailers (4595)

SIC

Retail-Hobby, Toy & Game Shops (5945), Retail-Catalog & Mail-Order Houses (5961), Retail-Misc General Merchandise Stores (5399)

akta.pro primary industry

Online Collectibles Marketplaces & Auction Retail (CRALAGAO)

Keywords

• Live shopping platform
• Livestream commerce
• Online marketplace
• Mobile commerce app
• Collectibles marketplace

Headquarters

HQ city

Menlo Park

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Marketplace Transaction Fees: Palmstreet charges sellers competitive fees on transactions conducted through the marketplace and live shows. The platform offers a free seller plan with rates more competitive than competitors, with additional fee reduction strategies available for LIVE and Purge sales.
2. Installment Payment Processing: Palmstreet supports buy-now-pay-later options (Klarna, Affirm, Afterpay) for eligible purchases. Sellers who opt into installment payments incur a 6%+$0.30 fee per transaction from the financial institutions.
3. Shipping Services: Sellers can purchase shipping labels through Palmstreet's integrated shipping solutions, including USPS, UPS, and other carriers, with combined shipping features for cost efficiency.
4. Seller Subscription (Pro Member): Palmstreet offers a Pro Member subscription tier that provides enhanced features and benefits for sellers. Subscriptions are managed through Apple App Store (iOS) and Google Play (Android).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Palmstreet operates a mobile-first live shopping marketplace where individual sellers and small businesses broadcast real-time livestreams to demonstrate and sell products directly to buyers. The platform hosts over 1 million marketplace listings spanning rare plants, designer toys, collectibles, fashion, beauty, jewelry, crystals, coins, aquatics, and reptiles. Core commerce formats include traditional marketplace listings, live-stream shopping shows, Live-Stream Auctions, and Long-Form Listing Auctions, supported by integrated shipping, buyer protection, and seller management tools.

Product overview

Palmstreet is a live shopping platform that originated as Plant Story (a plant identification app) in April 2020 and has evolved into a comprehensive lifestyle marketplace. The platform operates through two core offerings: Palmstreet Live Shopping (real-time video commerce during livestreams) and Palmstreet Marketplace (traditional browse-and-purchase listings with over 1 million products). These are supported by a suite of platform features including Live-Stream Auctions and Long-Form Listing Auctions for competitive purchasing, Shopping Cart for multi-item checkout, Seller Hub for seller management, Late Delivery Protection for buyer/seller assurance, and various engagement features like Palmie's Choice Awards, Trivia Game Show, and the Purge flash sale feature. Payment integrations include PayPal, Stripe, and buy-now-pay-later options (Klarna, Affirm, Afterpay). The platform serves niche collectors and hobbyists across plants, collectibles, fashion, beauty, jewelry, crystals, coins, reptiles, aquatics, and designer toys. The ecosystem is accessible via iOS and Android mobile apps, with supporting web marketplace.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Palmstreet Live Shopping Primary live shopping platform enabling real-time product demonstrations, live auctions, and interactive commerce through mobile app, where sellers showcase products live and buyers can purchase in real-time.
• Palmstreet Marketplace Traditional marketplace listings offering over 1 million products across categories including rare plants, coins, fashion, beauty, jewelry, aquatics, crystals, reptiles, and designer toys. Allows browsing, searching, and purchasing outside of live events.
• Palmstreet Mobile App (iOS/Android) Mobile application available on iOS and Android platforms enabling users to browse, buy, sell, and livestream on the Palmstreet marketplace.
• Live-Stream Auctions Real-time auction format during livestreams where buyers compete through bidding. Sellers and buyers interact live while items are sold to the highest bidder.
• Long-Form Listing Auctions Extended auction format with longer bidding periods, allowing more time for buyers to place strategic bids on special items in fashion, collectibles, and lifestyle categories.
• Palmstreet Pro Membership Premium monthly subscription tier offering enhanced features and benefits for power-user sellers, with subscription management through Apple App Store (iOS) or Google Play (Android).

Quantifiable outcome

• 3 million+ platform orders completed
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• Plastic PizzaflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 June 2026Toy designer partner collaborating with Palmstreet and Revise D to launch the Tail & Feathers Blind Box Series 1 at DesignerCon 2026. The collection features 600 blind boxes across three variants and 60 hand-painted Artist Limited Edition pieces. CEO Chen Li emphasized community-driven mission behind this collaboration.
• Revise DflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 June 2026Toy designer partner collaborating with Palmstreet and Plastic Pizza to launch the Tail & Feathers Blind Box Series 1. The designer duo Sarah and Jordan Fuchs are credited for the collaboration, supporting Palmstreet's mission to empower emerging artists in the designer toy community.
• Labubu Designer Toy BrandflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 July 2025Labubu mania found new home on Palmstreet Live Auctions, with 31 days of daily giveaways accompanying the launch. Palmstreet introduced the Labubu Buyer Protection Program to support this category.
• StripecoreTechnology or IntegrationStripe serves as Palmstreet's primary payment service provider, enabling secure payment processing, transaction management, and Fast Stripe ACH withdrawals for sellers.
• Firebase (Google)coreTechnology or IntegrationPalmstreet uses Firebase services for real-time database, authentication, cloud messaging, cloud storage, analytics, and crashlytics across its platform.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Whatnot: Live shopping marketplace focused on collectibles, sneakers, trading cards, and hobby categories. Most direct competitor to Palmstreet, with a similar seller-buyer livestream auction model and comparable community-led growth playbook.
• NTWRK: Live shopping platform specializing in sneakers, streetwear, and collectibles with creator-led drops. Comparable to Palmstreet in serving niche collectible buyers via live commerce and exclusive product launches.
• Poshmark: Social marketplace for fashion, beauty, and home goods with community-driven seller mechanics. Comparable to Palmstreet's fashion expansion given similar SMB seller base and emphasis on community engagement.

Broad incumbents

• eBay Live: Live shopping extension of eBay, covering collectibles, fashion, and electronics. Direct overlap with Palmstreet's marketplace + auction model but with eBay's vastly larger buyer base and brand recognition.
• Amazon Live: Live shopping capability embedded in Amazon's marketplace. Competes for general live commerce mindshare but lacks Palmstreet's niche-community focus and auction format differentiation.
• TikTok Shop: Social-commerce marketplace integrated into TikTok with live shopping features. Competes on creator-driven commerce with massive distribution; a key competitor for fashion, beauty, and collectibles categories.
• Etsy: Marketplace for handmade, vintage, and unique goods. Comparable to Palmstreet's positioning around authentic, unique items from independent sellers, though Etsy lacks a live-shopping component.
• Shopify Live: Live shopping tool integrated with Shopify's commerce platform, enabling merchants to host live sales. Comparable as live commerce infrastructure for sellers, though it serves merchants broadly rather than niche collectors.

Emerging players

• GOAT: Marketplace for sneakers and collectibles with strong authentication infrastructure. Comparable to Palmstreet's collectibles focus and emphasis on authenticity verification for high-value items.
• StockX: Live marketplace for sneakers, streetwear, collectibles, and electronics with auction-style pricing. Comparable to Palmstreet in the collectibles vertical and in serving buyer/seller liquidity needs for niche items.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/thepalmstreetapp

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors7 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Palmstreet