Prediction platform Kalshi announced the raising of $185 million in a Series C funding round, leading to a post-money valuation of $2 billion.
Funding and Valuation
The round was led by venture firm Paradigm, with participation from Sequoia, Multicoin, Neo, Bond Capital, and Citadel Securities. Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour stated, "People choose to work at Kalshi not because of the money we've raised, but because of our ambition: to build the most important financial market on the planet."
Market Prediction Prospects
Matt Huang from Paradigm compared the prediction market to the early days of crypto and expressed that it could become a trillion-dollar asset class. According to his words: "Prediction markets remind me a lot of what crypto felt like a decade ago: a nascent asset class on a path to trillions."
Current Challenges and Competitive Conditions
Kalshi faces legal challenges as gambling regulators in Nevada and New Jersey are actively trying to block its sports betting operations. Meanwhile, Kalshi's main competitor, Polymarket, is attempting to raise $200 million at a $1 billion valuation but has been banned in the U.S. since 2022.
Kalshi exemplifies the growing interest in prediction markets despite existing legal challenges and fierce competition.
