Key Notes
- Kalshi is discussing a $1 billion funding round at a valuation roughly 82% above the level announced in May.
- Tiger Global and Dragoneer may invest, while Sequoia Capital and Wellington are in talks to lead the financing.
- The platform is expanding its institutional trading business as competition with Polymarket and established exchanges intensifies.
Kalshi is in advanced talks to raise about $1 billion at a valuation of roughly $40 billion, with Tiger Global Management and Dragoneer Investment Group discussing participation as the trading platform pursues a broader role in financial markets.
Reuters reported the negotiations on September 29, citing people familiar with the matter. Existing investor Sequoia Capital and Wellington Management are discussing leading the round, which could be finalized in the coming weeks.
The proposed valuation would be about 82% above the $22 billion level in Kalshi’s May financing. It remains a figure under negotiation, rather than the price of a completed transaction.
New Investors Enter the Funding Discussions
The potential involvement of Tiger Global and Dragoneer adds to the earlier discussions around a $40 billion valuation. Reuters said their participation and the approximately $1 billion fundraising size had not previously been reported.
Kalshi and Tiger Global declined to comment to Reuters. Sequoia, Wellington and Dragoneer did not respond to the news agency’s requests for comment.
The distinction between capital raised and company valuation matters. A $1 billion investment would provide new financing, while the proposed $40 billion figure describes the value assigned to the business in the transaction. Neither amount represents the money customers have available to trade on the exchange.
Institutional Trading Underpins the Expansion
Kalshi announced its previous $1 billion Series F round on May 7. Coatue led that financing, with investors including Sequoia, Andreessen Horowitz, IVP, Paradigm, Morgan Stanley and ARK Invest.
At the time, the company said institutional trading volume had increased 800% over six months. It also reported that annualized trading volume had risen from $52 billion to $178 billion over that period. Those were company-reported activity figures, not revenue or profit.
The May announcement identified hedge funds, asset managers, proprietary trading firms and insurers as customers Kalshi wanted to attract. Its product priorities included block trading, additional risk-management products and deeper integrations with brokers.
These priorities help explain the commercial ambition behind another large funding round. Serving institutions requires more than attracting individual traders: larger transactions depend on sufficient liquidity, dependable execution and systems that fit into professional trading operations.
Kalshi Moves Beyond Event Contracts
Reuters described Kalshi’s ambition to expand across asset classes and compete more directly with established exchange operators CME Group and Intercontinental Exchange, the owner of the New York Stock Exchange.
There are already concrete steps behind that ambition. In August, Kalshi appointed former CFTC official Jeff Bandman as chief executive of Kalshi Prime, its registered futures commission merchant.
Kalshi said the business, launched in June, serves customers of its margined perpetual futures operation. It positioned the unit as part of an expansion into hedging services for institutions, individuals and businesses.
That gives the funding story a wider financial-market significance. Investors would be backing the development of trading and brokerage infrastructure alongside the company’s original business in contracts tied to event outcomes.
Polymarket and ICE Add Competitive Pressure
Polymarket is separately discussing a $1 billion capital raise, Reuters reported. The rival platform already has a strategic relationship with one of the established exchange groups Kalshi wants to challenge.
ICE announced an agreement in October 2025 to invest up to $2 billion in Polymarket at an approximately $8 billion pre-investment valuation. The arrangement also called for ICE to distribute Polymarket’s event-driven data globally to institutional customers.
The partnership illustrates two potential businesses around prediction markets: operating a venue where people trade and distributing the information generated by those transactions. Incumbent exchanges can participate in both, rather than simply ceding the category to newer platforms.
Market Oversight Remains Part of the Growth Story
The CFTC designated KalshiEX as a contract market in November 2020. That status carries continuing obligations under federal derivatives rules.
In a February 2026 advisory, the regulator emphasized that designated exchanges must maintain audit trails, monitor trading and enforce rules against prohibited practices. It also reiterated its authority to address fraud, manipulation and misuse of confidential information in event markets.
For Kalshi, a completed financing would expand the resources available for its next stage. Whether it secures the proposed valuation, which investors commit and how the money supports its broader exchange ambitions remain the details to watch.
