Kalshi in talks to raise funds at $40B valuation, nearly doubling in two months

Kalshi, the CFTC-regulated prediction market platform, is reportedly negotiating a new funding round that would value the company at roughly $40 billion. That’s nearly double the $22 billion valuation it secured during a $1 billion raise in May 2026, which was itself barely two months ago.

To put the speed of this ascent in perspective: Kalshi was valued at around $5 billion in early 2025. By December 2025, it hit $11 billion. By May 2026, $22 billion. And now, $40 billion. That’s an eightfold increase in roughly 18 months.

The numbers behind the hype

Monthly trading volume on the platform recently surpassed $17 billion. For context, the same figure was under $5 billion a year prior. That’s more than a threefold increase in twelve months.

During the May funding round, the company touted annualized volume of $178 billion.

Sports contracts have emerged as the dominant driver, accounting for roughly 65% of total trading volume. Multi-outcome products, contracts that allow traders to bet on a range of possible results rather than a simple yes/no binary, have also been gaining traction.

From MIT dorm room to Wall Street darling

Kalshi was founded in 2018 by Tarek Mansour and Luana Lopes Lara, both MIT alumni who previously worked at Citadel. Coatue, Sequoia Capital, and Andreessen Horowitz have all backed the company.

Kalshi holds CFTC approval to operate as a designated contract market, a classification that puts it in the same regulatory neighborhood as the CME Group and other established derivatives exchanges.

CME Group sued Kalshi after the platform launched CFTC-approved perpetual futures on crypto assets.

What this means for investors

The rapid valuation growth does raise questions about sustainability. Doubling your valuation in two months is the kind of thing that either looks prescient in hindsight or becomes a cautionary tale in a business school case study.

The competitive implications are worth watching closely. Robinhood has already begun experimenting with event contracts.

The ongoing lawsuit from CME Group is a reminder that incumbents have both the resources and the motivation to challenge Kalshi’s expansion into traditional derivatives territory.

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