The prediction market industry just witnessed one of the most explosive growth stories in fintech history. Kalshi, the New York-based forecasting platform, has skyrocketed to an $11 billion valuation after securing a massive $1 billion Series E funding round—a stunning achievement that represents a complete doubling of its value in less than two months.
What makes this even more remarkable is the velocity of Kalshi's ascent. The company was valued at just $5 billion when it announced a $300 million funding round in October, meaning it has added $6 billion in valuation in roughly 60 days. This isn't just growth—it's a validation that prediction markets have transitioned from niche betting platforms into mainstream financial infrastructure.
The Money Behind the Momentum
The funding round tells you everything you need to know about investor confidence in this space.
Paradigm, the crypto-focused venture firm, led the charge, with heavyweight participation from Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Capital G, ARK Invest, and other established backers. This isn't a collection of fringe investors betting on a moonshot—these are the same firms backing the most consequential tech companies in the world.
To date, Kalshi has raised
$1.6 billion in total funding since its founding, with the company having participated in Y Combinator's 2019 winter batch. But the real story isn't just the money raised—it's what the money represents: a fundamental shift in how markets, media, and society are beginning to think about forecasting and probability.
Record-Breaking Trading Volumes Signal Mainstream Adoption
The numbers are staggering.
Kalshi posted record trading volumes of more than $4.5 billion in November alone, with the platform now consistently exceeding $1 billion in weekly trading activity. This represents a
1,000% increase in trading volumes compared to 2024, according to the company's own data.
What's particularly telling is the composition of these trades. While Kalshi initially gained mainstream attention during the 2024 U.S. presidential election cycle, a large portion of current trading activity is actually tied to sports outcomes. This diversification suggests the platform is evolving beyond political betting into a genuine multi-asset forecasting ecosystem.
Even more impressively,
Kalshi has now overtaken its closest competitor, Polymarket, in trading volume. While Polymarket posted
$3.76 billion in November trading, Kalshi's
$4.54 billion represents a clear market leadership position.
CNN Partnership: Prediction Markets Go Mainstream
Perhaps the most significant development is Kalshi's newly announced partnership with
CNN, one of the world's most influential news organizations. This isn't a minor sponsorship deal—it's a fundamental integration of prediction market data into CNN's editorial and production workflows.
Harry Enten, CNN's chief data analyst, will lead the integration effort, using Kalshi's forecasts as an additional input alongside traditional polling, historical trends, and demographic modeling. The partnership will introduce live on-screen tickers displaying market-implied odds during news segments, enhanced graphics, and richer context for fast-moving news cycles.
This move represents a watershed moment for the prediction market industry. By embedding Kalshi's data directly into one of America's most-watched news networks, the partnership legitimizes prediction markets as a serious analytical tool—not just a betting platform. CNN viewers will now see real-time market probabilities for political outcomes, economic developments, and cultural events, fundamentally changing how mainstream audiences understand uncertainty and risk.
The Competitive Landscape Heats Up
Kalshi isn't operating in a vacuum. Its main rival,
Polymarket, was reportedly in talks to raise another round at a $12 billion to $15 billion valuation as of October, according to Bloomberg. More recently, Polymarket secured up to
$2 billion in strategic investment from Intercontinental Exchange (parent company of the New York Stock Exchange), setting an
$8 billion pre-money valuation.
The competition is intensifying at the highest levels.
Coinbase, the major cryptocurrency exchange, was recently found to be working on a prediction market interface powered by Kalshi, signaling that even the largest players in crypto are recognizing the strategic importance of this sector.
What's Next: Enterprise and Institutional Adoption
Kalshi's CEO Tarek Mansour has articulated an ambitious vision:
to shift how information is consumed by replacing speculation and opinion with data drawn from prediction markets. The company plans to use its new capital to expand integrations with brokerages, build partnerships with news organizations, and broaden the range of markets on its platform.
Future growth is expected to come from enterprise use cases, where companies use Kalshi to hedge against business-specific risks—government shutdowns, adverse weather changes, regulatory decisions, and other tail events that can impact operations. This represents a massive untapped market, as corporations increasingly seek sophisticated tools to manage uncertainty.
The Bigger Picture
What's happening with Kalshi reflects a broader transformation in how markets, media, and society are approaching forecasting.
Prediction markets are no longer fringe betting platforms—they're becoming essential infrastructure for understanding probability and risk in real time. The explosive growth, record valuations, and mainstream media partnerships all point to a sector entering its inflection point.
Whether Kalshi maintains its market leadership against well-funded competitors like Polymarket remains to be seen. But one thing is clear: the prediction market industry has arrived, and Kalshi is leading the charge.
1.
Kalshi raises $1B at $11B valuation, doubling value in under two months2.
CNN Elevates Coverage With Kalshi's Real Time Prediction Data3.
Kalshi Secures $1B To Expand Predictions Market Platform4.
CNN to Use Kalshi Prediction Markets Across Its News Coverage**
Sources
1. Kalshi raises $1B at $11B valuation, doubling value in ...
2. CNN Elevates Coverage With Kalshi's Real Time ...
3. Kalshi Secures $1B To Expand Predictions Market Platform
4. Kalshi - Prediction Market for Trading the Future
5. CNN to Use Kalshi Prediction Markets Across Its News ...
