Prediction market platform Kalshi said it raised $1 billion in fresh funding at a $22 billion valuation as institutional investors increasingly turn to event contracts for trading and hedging.
The Series F round was led by Coatue and included Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Paradigm, IVP, Morgan Stanley and ARK Invest, according to a press release Thursday. The news confirmed a Bloomberg report in March about the investment round and valuation.
The firm said it plans to use the capital to expand institutional services, including block trading tools, brokerage integrations and new risk products aimed at asset managers and insurers.
The fundraising comes as prediction markets have taken off in both crypto and traditional finance as companies look for alternative ways to measure probabilities and manage risk. Hedge funds and proprietary trading firms are increasingly using event contracts alongside conventional derivatives to hedge exposure or express macroeconomic views.
The company operates a regulated marketplace where users trade contracts tied to real-world outcomes, from elections and economic data to sports and weather events. Traders buy contracts that pay out if a specific event occurs, turning forecasts into tradable markets.
Kalshi said institutional trading volume on the platform has increased 800% over the past six months, while annual trading volume has more than tripled to $178 billion over the same period.
Amid dizzying growth, prediction markets have also come under increasing scrutiny from US regulators and government agencies. Nevada, New Jersey, Illinois and several other states have issued cease-and-desist orders or launched legal challenges against Kalshi, alleging that some event contracts resemble unlicensed sports betting products. Kalshi has pushed back, saying its federally regulated exchange falls under the oversight of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) rather than state gambling authorities.
