Kalshi raises $1,000m at $40bn valuation as Utah files criminal charges

Kalshi raised $1,000 million in financing in a round that values the company at $40,000 million, and the deal was announced on Thursday. At the same time, the state of Utah has filed criminal charges against the prediction markets platform and its cofounders.

Funding and product expansion

The round, co-led by Sequoia Capital and Wellington Management, lifts Kalshi’s valuation from $22,000 million in May to $40.000 millones, an increase of roughly 82%. The company had already raised $1,000 million in May, so this is the second billion-dollar round in five months.

Kalshi said it will use the new financing to expand its offering beyond sports and election event contracts and to invest in institutional trading. In September the company said it was working with 500 institutional entities; excluding market makers, those clients generated 25% of total trading volume. The firm began offering perpetual futures in May, becoming the first prediction-market operator to introduce those contracts, known as perps.

Planned developments include leveraged contracts, perpetual futures tied to single equities and contracts referenced to compute pricing that would let traders speculate on the cost of digital processing capacity. Kalshi has also said an initial public offering remains under discussion; CEO Tarek Mansour previously qualified that he did not view an IPO in 2027 as likely before the new valuation. On CNBC he said:

"A company of our financial profile with the rate of growth that we’re seeing, that sort of conversation has to happen," said Tarek Mansour.

With these steps the company aims to compete directly with established financial exchanges and broaden the product menu available to institutional and retail clients.

Criminal charges in Utah and a regulatory dispute

Utah filed charges against Kalshi and its cofounders, CEO Tarek Mansour and COO Luana Lopes Lara. Prosecutors brought a second-degree felony, twelve third-degree felonies and one misdemeanor, a tally the original report describes as thirteen felonies and one minor charge. Utah Attorney General Derek Brown says the sports contracts covering spreads, moneylines and totals fall under the state’s gambling ban.

Brown said:

"Calling it a ‘prediction market’ doesn’t change what it is, and being federally registered doesn’t put a company above the law."

Kalshi contends its contracts are "swaps", not bets, and argues the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has exclusive regulatory authority over its activity. The company called the action an "overreach" politically and told the AP: "We look forward to putting a stop to this in court, just like we did in Arizona." The dispute predates the new round: Kalshi sued Utah in February, and in August a federal judge ruled that federal law does not prevent Utah from enforcing its gambling statutes.

Nearly 20 states are involved in litigation with Kalshi; a definitive resolution could take months and ultimately reach the Supreme Court.

Trading volume and recent activity

Kalshi recorded $5.1 billion in trading volume on October 24, driven by college football, the NFL and interest in the November 3 election. That day measures contracts bought and sold, not revenue. The October 24 volume far exceeded its peak during the 2026 FIFA World Cup; on July 5 the platform handled $608 million in trades.

CEO Tarek Mansour has described the upcoming election as "the first prediction-market election," noting broader market-data use by institutions and general audiences.