Kalshi Secures $1B To Expand Predictions Market Platform

Another day, another giant round for a predictions marketplace.

Who could’ve predicted that?

Well, apparently anybody who’s been watching this space in recent months. The two leading names — Kalshi and Polymarket — have been busily scooping up billions in fresh commitments as they expand platforms that let users wager on events ranging from the Stanley Cup to the Epstein Files release.

Today, New York-based Kalshi announced it raised $1 billion in Series E funding at an $11 billion valuation. Crypto-focused investment firm Paradigm led the financing, with participation from Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Meritech Capital Partners, IVP, ARK Invest, Anthos Capital, CapitalG and Y Combinator.

Notably, Kalshi’s latest raise comes barely a month after its prior round, a $300 million financing at a reported $5 billion valuation. In hindsight, a quick up round seemed, well, predictable.

That’s because Kalshi’s chief rival, Polymarket, has been on an even more capital-intensive trajectory. Just last month, New York-based Polymarket secured up to $2 billion in strategic investment from stock and futures exchange giant Intercontinental Exchange, parent company of the New York Stock Exchange. The deal set an $8 billion pre-money valuation for the startup.

Kalshi calls itself the world’s largest prediction market. It’s seen hyper-charged growth, with trading volumes now surpassing $1 billion every week, up more than 1,000% from 2024, per the funding announcement.

To date, the 7-year-old company has raised $1.6 billion in known funding, per Crunchbase data. In its early days, it was a participant in Y Combinator’s 2019 winter batch of startups.

Beyond being places to make or lose money, predictions marketplaces are also growing a cultural phenomenon, providing insights into how people envision future events unfolding, be they elections or interest rate moves.

Illustration: Dom Guzman