Kalshi’s latest funding round turns an emerging niche in financial markets into one of the sector’s most closely watched experiments, as investors pour capital into platforms that let traders bet on real‑world events.
The company’s valuation has more than doubled in a matter of weeks, underscoring how event‑based trading now attracts both institutional money and retail interest.
Valuation Jumps and Fresh Capital
Kalshi said it raised $1 billion in new financing, lifting its valuation to about $11 billion, more than double the roughly $5 billion level it commanded less than two months ago.
The earlier round saw the company secure $300 million at that $5 billion valuation, signaling a rapid repricing of the business as momentum in prediction markets builds.
- How Sneakers and Other Hype Items Sneak Into Prediction Markets in the StockX–Kalshi Deal
- Prediction Markets Platform Kalshi Sues New York Hours After Shutdown Threat
- Why Kalshi's John Wang Calls Prediction Markets the "Trojan Horse" for Crypto
The startup’s latest Series E round pulled in a roster of well‑known backers, including Sequoia, Andreessen Horowitz, Meritech Capital, IVP, ARK Invest, Anthos Capital, CapitalG and Y Combinator. The fresh capital gives Kalshi a sizeable war chest as competition intensifies and regulators pay closer attention to event‑driven trading platforms.
Kalshi operates a platform where users trade binary contracts tied to outcomes in politics, sports, economics and entertainment, effectively pricing the probability of specific events.
Competitive Race with Polymarket and Robinhood
Kalshi’s push comes as rivals move quickly to capture the same opportunity in event‑driven trading. Its biggest competitor, Polymarket, was reportedly in talks in October to raise capital at a valuation between $12 billion and $15 billion, a range that puts the two platforms in a similar league in investors’ eyes.
Mainstream trading players also test the waters. Retail brokerage Robinhood launched a prediction markets hub in its app earlier this year, giving its user base direct access to event‑based contracts and signaling that incumbents view the space as a growth channel rather than a curiosity at the fringe of finance.
Beyond headline valuations, Kalshi points to its operating metrics to justify the surge in investor interest. The company said weekly trading volumes now exceed $1 billion, more than 1,000% higher than in 2024, highlighting how quickly market participants adopt event‑linked contracts when they gain regulatory clarity and product depth.
Regulatory Breakthrough and Election Contracts
Kalshi’s expansion follows a closely watched legal battle with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) over whether it could list contracts linked to political events.
After a successful court challenge, the startup gained approval to list markets tied to the U.S. presidential election, clearing a major hurdle for its strategy in one of the most sensitive areas of event‑based trading.
The company aims to integrate with more brokerages, pursue media partnerships and expand its product lineup, moves that could push prediction markets in front of a much wider audience of retail and professional traders.
