Prediction market Kalshi is getting new funding offers that could lift its value past $10 billion, according to a report from Bloomberg.
The interest comes just weeks after the New York-based company wrapped up a $300 million funding round that valued it at $5 billion. Venture capital firms are now lining up to pour more cash in, with some discussions floating valuations as high as $12 billion. The people involved in the talks didn’t want to be named because the details are private, but the appetite for this startup is clearly heating up.
Earlier this month, Kalshi said its latest round was co-led by Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital. Back in June, the company raised $185 million at a $2 billion valuation, led by crypto-focused investor Paradigm.
Kalshi lets users trade on the outcomes of real-world events, anything from presidential elections and sports games to the duration of a government shutdown.
In a recent post on X, co-founder and CEO Tarek Mansour said the company’s annualized trading volume hit $50 billion.
Kalshi expands after court win and surging volumes
For years, regulators treated prediction markets like a legal grey zone. That changed after Kalshi’s court victory last October, which gave it the right to list presidential election contracts.
The ruling ignited a flood of trading on the platform, sending volumes to new highs. Kalshi used its federal license to open markets on sports contests nationwide, expanding what users can legally trade on. This move has boosted its growth and put it in a tighter race with its closest competitor, Polymarket.
One person familiar with the company’s latest fundraising reportedly told Bloomberg that the new capital could “strengthen Kalshi’s position in a crowded and fast-moving space.” Both platforms have become magnets for speculators betting on everything from political outcomes to global sports events.
Venture capital firms are allegedly competing for early stakes in Kalshi and even making unsolicited, preemptive offers before the company even opens new fundraising rounds.
Meanwhile, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has allowed Kalshi to expand its event-based markets, but state gaming regulators, who traditionally oversee sports betting, have been pushing back in court. The CFTC says it still has concerns of market manipulation and insider trading in platforms like this.
Wall Street companies and gambling operators are moving fast to partner with prediction exchanges before the industry matures. The National Hockey League this week announced multiyear partnerships with both Kalshi and Polymarket, making it the first major U.S. sports league to embrace these markets directly.
At the same time, the industry is seeing an arms race in valuations.Just recently, Cryptopolitan reported that the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), which owns the New York Stock Exchange, would invest up to $2 billion in Polymarket at a valuation of around $8 billion, a massive jump from its $1 billion market cap earlier this year in a Founders Fund-led round.
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