Kalshi raises $1B at $40B valuation as it expands beyond prediction markets

Kalshi has raised $1 billion at a $40 billion valuation, co-led by Sequoia Capital and Wellington Management. Tiger Global and Dragoneer also took part, according to a source cited by Reuters. The valuation is up from $22 billion in May, when Coatue led a $1 billion round, and from $5 billion a year ago.

The New York company, whose CEO is Tarek Mansour and whose co-founder is Luana Lopes Lara, built its business on prediction markets for sports and elections. This year it added perpetual futures on crypto, equity indexes and metals after CFTC approval. It says the new funds go to a broader exchange: single-stock perpetuals, leveraged event contracts and a market for compute prices.

The round follows criminal charges brought by Utah's attorney general on 28 October against Kalshi and two executives over the promotion of online gambling. Kalshi argues that federal law, not state gambling rules, governs its contracts.