Kalshi raises $300M to expand prediction markets to 140 countries

United States-based prediction marketplace Kalshi closed another major funding round to bring its platform to more than 100 countries worldwide.

Kalshi completed a Series D funding round of over $300 million led by Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), with participation by Paradigm, the company announced on Friday.

The platform is immediately available in over 140 countries, Kalshi said in a statement shared with Cointelegraph, adding that it has now emerged as the “world’s only unified global prediction market and instantly added billions of new potential customers.”

The latest $300 million raise came months after Kalshi closed a separate $185 million funding round in June, which was led by Paradigm and also featured Sequoia.

$5 billion valuation

Kalshi’s Series D funding brought the company’s valuation to $5 billion, up $3 billion from its previous raise in June.

In addition to Sequoia, a16z and Paradigm, the new funding round attracted additional investors, including CapitalG, Coinbase Ventures, General Catalyst and Spark Capital.

On the heels of a fundraising round valuing Kalshi at $5 billion, the platform also announced its international expansion with an immediate launch in several new markets.

“International users can now access the platform via the Kalshi website with an identical product experience to American users,” the company said.

38 countries are restricted

Approached by Cointelegraph, Kalshi did not immediately disclose the markets where the platform is expanding, instead referring to a member agreement that lists 38 restricted jurisdictions.

Among the restricted countries, the document lists Canada, France, Poland, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the United Kingdom, Venezuela and others.

“Kalshi has emerged as the leading prediction market platform, and we’re thrilled to back them,” a16z’s Growth Fund partner Alex Immerman said.

Related: Kalshi ‘ready to defend’ prediction markets amid Massachusetts lawsuit

“Tarek and Luana chose the difficult but more responsible path of becoming the first CFTC-regulated prediction market, and their breadth of markets, liquidity, and infrastructure are built for scale,” he added, highlighting the platform’s opportunity to become “the largest and most important financial market.”

Kalshi’s news marks another milestone in the growing trend for prediction markets, with its major rival, Polymarket, raising $2 billion from NYSE owner, Intercontinental Exchange, on Tuesday. The strategic investment put Polymarket’s post-money valuation at $9 billion.