Kalshi is “in talks to raise funds at a valuation of about” $40B as the “rapidly growing predictions market steps up efforts to offer new products and challenge the biggest players in the derivatives and gambling industries,” according to Levingston, Pollard & Steer of the FINANCIAL TIMES. Sources said that the company could “close a fresh funding round as soon as the third quarter of this year.” Levingston, Pollard & Steer note Kalshi raised $1B at a $22B valuation last month. The company last month also attracted more than $17B in trading volume, up from less than $5B a year ago. Kalshi’s “rapid rise has been helped by US regulators’ light-touch approach to prediction market companies” and President Trump’s “de facto blessing.” Sports bets “dominate the platform,” accounting for about 65% of Kalshi’s volume. Wagers similar to parlays have “proved wildly popular since they were rolled out on the platform last September” (FINANCIAL TIMES, 6/24).
READY FOR REGULATION: As the company faces legal battles with several U.S. states over restrictions around gambling, Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour said he is “all for regulation” of prediction markets. Mansour, appearing on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” said, “Our entire positioning has been, we’re a pro-regulation company. We took a regulatory first approach when we started building this company.” He added, “We’re not just abiding by the current regulations. We’re actually regulating ourselves beyond what’s currently required from us” (CNBC.com, 6/24).
