TLDR
- Kalshi secured $1 billion in Series F funding from Coatue and partners, reaching a $22 billion valuation
- Backers include Sequoia, a16z, Morgan Stanley, Paradigm, IVP, and ARK Invest
- Institutional participation increased 800% over six months; annual volume reached $178 billion
- Platform commands 90% of U.S. prediction market share with 2 million monthly active users
- Multiple state governments have challenged operations through cease-and-desist orders amid regulatory disputes
Kalshi has announced the completion of a $1 billion Series F funding round, achieving a valuation of $22 billion. Coatue led the investment, with participation from Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Paradigm, IVP, Morgan Stanley, and ARK Invest.
The disclosure validates an earlier Bloomberg report from March that initially broke news of the funding round and its scale.
Kalshi operates a regulated exchange where participants trade contracts based on real-world events. These contracts cover elections, economic indicators, sporting events, and weather patterns.
According to the platform, it generates $1.5 billion in annualized revenue and maintains 2 million monthly active users. The company reports controlling 90% of prediction market activity within the United States.
The platform has experienced rapid volume expansion. Annualized trading volume climbed to $178 billion from $52 billion half a year earlier — representing more than a threefold increase during that timeframe.
Institutional participation has powered significant portions of this expansion. The company reports that institutional trading volume climbed 800% across the previous six months as hedge funds and proprietary trading firms utilize event contracts for risk hedging and macro positioning.
Capital Allocation Strategy
Kalshi intends to deploy the fresh capital toward expanding institutional offerings. This encompasses block trading infrastructure, broker platform integrations, and additional risk management products targeting asset managers and insurance companies.
CEO Tarek Mansour stated: “There are few categories in recent history that have scaled this quickly outside of AI. Event contracts could become a trillion-dollar market, and we’re still in the early stages of that transition.”
Coatue founder Philippe Laffont remarked: “Kalshi is building the leading platform for trading in real-world events. Consumers have already embraced it, and we believe institutions will follow.”
Kalshi’s primary rival, Polymarket, is pursuing $400 million in funding at a reported $15 billion valuation. Together, both platforms surpassed $150 billion in cumulative lifetime trading volume during March.
Analyst firm Bernstein estimates total prediction market volumes will achieve $240 billion throughout this year, representing a 370% jump from 2025. The firm forecasts the sector will reach $1 trillion by 2030.
Regulatory Opposition Grows
Alongside this expansion, Kalshi confronts resistance from state-level authorities. Nevada, New Jersey, Illinois, and additional jurisdictions have issued cease-and-desist orders or initiated legal proceedings. These regulators contend that certain event contracts on Kalshi’s platform constitute unlicensed sports wagering.
Kalshi maintains that federal oversight by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission governs its exchange and exempts it from state gambling statutes. The CFTC has initiated legal action against these states seeking to preserve federal regulatory authority.
Prediction markets have encountered examination regarding insider trading activities. In late April, authorities charged a U.S. Army soldier with leveraging confidential intelligence to secure over $400,000 on Polymarket through wagers connected to the January ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Master Sergeant Gannon Ken Van Dyke entered a not guilty plea.
