Prediction market operator Kalshi has secured $1 billion in Series G funding at a $40 billion post-money valuation, nearly doubling its valuation in less than six months as it expands beyond sports contracts into commodities, cryptocurrency and derivatives. The round was co-led by Wellington Management and Sequoia Capital, with participation from Baillie Gifford, Stripes, Andreessen Horowitz, Coatue, Layer Global, Morgan Stanley Investment Management, Sequoia Global Equities, CapitalG, Hudson River Trading and Balyasny Asset Management.
The new valuation marks an approximately 82% increase from the $22 billion valuation set during its $1 billion Series F in May, which was led by Coatue Management. Kalshi says the fresh capital will support product development, institutional adoption and international expansion as it attempts to build a broader financial exchange rather than remain primarily associated with event-based trading.
The company reports more than $1 trillion in annualized trading volume and more than $1 billion in annualized revenue from non-sports markets. Its platform has created more than 30 million accounts and accounts for over 75% of prediction market trading volume. In particular, Kalshi says its commodities business generated more than $100 million in annualized trading fees within three months, while crypto trading volume reached $140 billion on an annualized basis. Political markets exceeded $8 billion, and its recently launched perpetual futures business has accumulated $83 billion in cumulative trading volume and attracted more than 500,000 traders.
Institutional participation is also increasing. Around 500 entities were active on Kalshi in September, with participants other than market makers accounting for roughly 25% of total exchange trading volume. The company is expanding distribution through relationships with Interactive Brokers, Marex, Clear Street, Cantor Fitzgerald, S&P, Nasdaq, Stripe, Plus500, Wealthsimple, Alpaca, PayPal and Block. Its retail business, launched in more than 140 countries about a year ago, is approaching $100 million in annualized trading fees, with Latin America and Europe identified as priority regions.
Kalshi’s fundraising arrives during an escalating regulatory fight. New York filed a lawsuit against the company on July 31, seeking to block event contracts nationwide and requesting more than $36 billion in damages. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission exercised emergency authority on August 11 after Kalshi notified the agency of a market emergency, though the order did not resolve the underlying dispute. Utah filed a civil lawsuit on October 20, the CFTC sued Utah on October 26, and on October 28 Utah filed criminal charges against Kalshi and co-founders Tarek Mansour and Luana Lopes Lara over alleged violations of state gambling laws. Federal courts have split, with the Sixth Circuit ruling against Kalshi in Ohio and Tennessee disputes while the Third Circuit ruled in its favor against New Jersey regulators.
Kalshi has not provided a complete income statement or profitability figures, and its trading-volume run rate should not be confused with revenue or earnings. Nevertheless, the funding and distribution partnerships indicate significant institutional support for the platform’s push into crypto and derivatives markets.
