Kalshi Secures $300M Funding Round to Expand Sports Event Contracts Beyond US Borders
Prediction market platform Kalshi has closed a $300 million Series D funding round led by Sequoia Capital, valuing the company at $2.8 billion. The fresh capital will fuel international expansion and product development as event contracts blur the line between financial derivatives and sports wagering.
Kalshi, the CFTC-regulated prediction market exchange, announced on Thursday it had closed a $300 million Series D funding round at a $2.8 billion valuation. The round was led by Sequoia Capital with participation from Paradigm, Peak XV, and existing backer Charles Schwab. The raise comes as prediction markets emerge as one of the fastest-growing categories in North American wagering, with monthly contract volumes across the sector surpassing $4.5 billion in July.
CEO Tarek Mansour said the capital will primarily fund geographic expansion, with Kalshi actively pursuing licenses in the United Kingdom, Australia, and select EU jurisdictions where event-based derivatives can operate under existing financial services frameworks. The company is also building out a dedicated institutional trading desk to attract hedge funds and market makers, whom Mansour described as 'critical to deepening liquidity across our sports and political contract books.'
The funding announcement arrives amid intensifying regulatory scrutiny of prediction markets in the US, where several state gaming regulators — including those in New Jersey, Nevada, and Massachusetts — have issued cease-and-desist letters challenging whether sports event contracts constitute unlicensed sports betting. Kalshi has so far prevailed in federal court, with a Washington D.C. district judge ruling in June that the CFTC's oversight preempts state gaming statutes. That decision is currently under appeal.
Industry analysts at Eilers & Krejcik note that Kalshi's valuation now rivals mid-tier licensed sportsbook operators, reflecting investor conviction that prediction markets represent a durable new vertical rather than a regulatory arbitrage play. 'The capital markets are voting with their checkbooks,' analyst Chris Krafcik wrote in a client note. 'Whether traditional operators embrace this model or fight it will define competitive dynamics through 2027.'