According to the Wall Street Journal, prediction market platforms Kalshi and Polymarket are preparing for a new round of financing, with market valuations expected to reach approximately $20 billion for each company, doubling their previous valuations. Kalshi was founded in 2018 by Tarek Mansour and Luana Lopes Lara, and in 2020 it received approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), becoming the first compliant platform to operate a legal event-based trading market. In recent years, its revenue has rapidly expanded, with internal data indicating an annual revenue exceeding $1 billion, and some analysts estimating it to be close to $1.5 billion. Meanwhile, Polymarket plans to officially enter the U.S. market later this year, despite its business model attracting regulatory scrutiny, particularly regarding potential insider trading concerns. Nevertheless, the platform continues to attract a significant influx of users and capital. The development of both companies signifies that prediction markets are gradually transitioning from niche experiments to an important part of mainstream financial infrastructure.
