Kalshi Finds Unicorn Status with Latest Funding Round

Kalshi has raised Series C funding of $185 million, taking its post-money valuation to $2 billion and firmly positioning itself in the fast-growing prediction market sector. It brings the company into an exclusive unicorn club, one that is made particularly newsworthy given the recent controversy surrounding prediction markets.

The round, which crypto-native venture fund Paradigm headed, also saw giant investors such as Sequoia Capital, Multicoin Capital, Neo, Bond Capital, and Citadel Securities' head, Peng Zhao, join in. According to Reuters, it is Kalshi's biggest to date and comes hot on the heels of decentralized rival Polymarket raising a $200 million round.

Kalshi's capital investment follows the backdrop of a transformation in prediction markets, with exchange platforms to trade on real-world events gathering mainstream attention. 

Kalshi will utilize the new funding to expand its engineering and infrastructure presence, further solidifying its presence in online brokerages such as Robinhood and Webull. The firm also plans to expand its product line to serve both institutional and retail traders.

Kalshi is the sole U.S. prediction market operator licensed by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Its contracts permit members to bet on events ranging from politics and economics to entertainment and sport. 

A key court decision late in 2024 confirmed Kalshi's ability to supply politically related contracts, driving its expansion into new areas. But politically related contracts continue, such as focuses on the New York City mayoral race and the New York City democratic primary.

Banking on sports markets

As of mid-2025, sports contracts account for nearly 80% of Kalshi's total trading volume, indicating an increase in user demand for non-political markets. This is part of a broader initiative by the platform to recast prediction markets as information-seeking and hedging instruments, rather than speculative or gambling-focused destinations.

Even with federal government support, Kalshi's route to regulation remains uncertain. Numerous U.S. states still question its activities under domestic gambling legislation and are wary of jurisdictional conflict.

Kalshi contends that its federally regulated status supersedes state resistance and has met with federal and state officials to address their concerns and establish legal parameters. It also invests in public outreach efforts to highlight the distinction between regulated event contracts and outdated betting websites.

Kalshi's regulator-friendly, centralized model is the reverse of Polymarket, a decentralized prediction trading platform based on Ethereum and Polygon. Polymarket is reportedly closing out a Founders Fund-led funding round worth more than $1 billion. 

However, Polymarket is still regulated by the U.S. and is excluded from entering the most profitable part of the worldwide prediction market.

With both websites attracting more capital and attention, state regulators are increasingly responsible for defining the future regulation of event-based trading.