Kalshi Valued at $40 Billion in Sequoia, Wellington-Led $1 Billion Series G

Kalshi Secures $1 Billion in Series G Funding, Valuation Soars to $40 Billion

Prediction market platform Kalshi has successfully closed a $1 billion Series G funding round, propelling its valuation to $40 billion. The round was co-led by Sequoia Capital and Wellington Management, marking a significant jump from its previous valuation of $22 billion in May.

Expanding Beyond Sports and Politics

Kalshi co-founder and CEO Tarek Mansour told The New York Times that the company has completed the funding round, which was dubbed Series G and co-led by Sequoia Capital and Wellington Management. The post-investment valuation now stands at $40 billion. Mansour noted in an interview on Wednesday evening that this valuation is nearly double that of its competitor, Polymarket, following its recent funding. The company stated that the round was finalized last week.

The investor syndicate for this round includes Baillie Gifford, Morgan Stanley Investment Management, Coatue Management, and Andreessen Horowitz. This latest valuation represents an approximately 80% increase from the previous round in May, which was led by Coatue Management and valued the company at around $22 billion.

Cindy Cheng, Head of Consumer at Wellington Management, commented in a statement that interest in Kalshi from both retail and institutional investors is on the rise, highlighting that event markets offer individuals and businesses new avenues to express views and manage risk. Alexander Nicolier, an Investment Manager at Baillie Gifford, views the sports market as a funnel for user acquisition and emphasized the platform’s regulatory-first approach.

Strategic Growth and Future Ambitions

Mansour explained that the new capital will be used to develop features on the product roadmap that both retail and institutional users have requested, as well as to pursue the team’s own strategic directions. While the market widely anticipates this to be Kalshi’s final private funding round before a potential IPO, Mansour acknowledged that “discussions have taken place” without providing a specific timeline for a public offering.

In a blog post announcing the funding, Kalshi stated that prediction markets are just the beginning, with the ultimate goal of building a broader financial exchange. The new funds will be allocated to developing leveraged event contracts, perpetual contracts linked to individual stocks, and a market for tradable computing power prices, while also continuing to bolster its institutional business.

The company announced in September that it had partnered with approximately 500 institutional entities, which, excluding market makers, accounted for about 25% of the platform’s total trading volume. Since the previous funding round, trading activity has been boosted by composite contracts related to the 2026 World Cup and the NFL season, as well as political markets leading up to the US midterm elections.

Mansour further informed The New York Times that annualized revenue, excluding sports-related contracts, has surpassed $1 billion. He also mentioned that growth in cryptocurrency-related products is outpacing that of sports, and commodities are growing faster than crypto. Analysts suggest that the current valuation reflects market expectations for growth beyond sports, which currently accounts for about 80% of trading volume.

Navigating Regulatory Challenges

Alongside its soaring valuation, Kalshi continues to face legal scrutiny. Several appellate courts have issued conflicting rulings on whether state governments can regulate sports-related event contracts. New Jersey has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for clarification on whether federal law preempts state jurisdiction over prediction market sports betting. Kalshi argues that these products are federally regulated financial instruments, while some states maintain that state gambling regulations should apply.

Reuters reported that the Utah Attorney General’s office filed criminal charges this week against Kalshi and two of its senior executives, accusing them of illegally promoting online gambling. The same report noted that Kalshi is shifting its focus from sports and election event contracts to a multi-asset trading platform, directly competing with traditional exchanges like CME Group and Intercontinental Exchange (ICE). After receiving approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) this year, the company entered the perpetual contracts market, initially with cryptocurrencies and later expanding to stock indices and metals.

The $40 billion valuation positions Kalshi ahead of its peers in the eyes of investors. Polymarket was reportedly seeking funding around August at a valuation of approximately $21 billion. Kalshi’s latest round nearly doubles that gap and sets a new high for private market valuations for a “regulated, compliant event exchange” under the CFTC.

For observers at the intersection of cryptocurrency and traditional finance, the implications of these figures are clear: institutions are willing to invest billions, betting that event contracts will evolve from a sports-driven funnel into a multi-asset exchange, despite ongoing state-level litigation and a pending Supreme Court case. The focus going forward will not be on whether the valuation can be pushed higher, but rather on whether leveraged contracts, individual stock perpetuals, and institutional volume can sustain non-sports revenue growth.