The prediction platform Kalshi has raised over $1 billion in a new funding round, boosting its valuation to $22 billion, according to Bloomberg.
A source from the agency reported that the deal was led by Coatue Management. The previous funding round took place in December, when the startup was valued at $11 billion, with investments from Paradigm, Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, and ARK Invest.
The Wall Street Journal first reported Kalshi's plans to secure new capital in March. Journalists noted that Polymarket is also preparing for a similar move to increase its market valuation from $9 billion to $20 billion.
Market Dynamics
Polymarket and Kalshi are the two leaders in the growing prediction market segment. As of March, Polymarket holds 53.1% of the market, while Kalshi has 39.3%.
Source: Dune.In February, trading volume on the platforms exceeded a record $18 billion. This month alone, the figure has already reached $13.2 billion, with Kalshi processing $6.9 billion and Polymarket $6.3 billion.
The majority of the nominal turnover comes from Polymarket at $63.9 billion, while Kalshi's value stands at $53.6 billion. The nearest competitor, the Opinion platform on BNB Chain, has a trading volume of $23.2 billion.
However, in terms of open interest, Kalshi leads with $486 million:
Source: Dune.New Partnership
MLB has made Polymarket its exclusive partner. The prediction platform will gain access to data and branding from the sports organization and will work on restricting markets that pose risks to game integrity, as stated in a press release.
The agreement comes ahead of the new season and follows a series of scandals from last year, where pitchers were accused of accepting bribes from players for specific types of pitches. Betting on individual actions and statistics is widespread on Polymarket.
As a reminder, in March, the prediction platform secured the analytical company Palantir to identify suspicious sports bets.