Kalshi in Talks to Raise Money at $65 Billion Valuation, Weeks After a $40 Billion Round

Reuters, citing a source familiar with the matter, reported that Kalshi plans to use the money to build a platform for trading compute futures. These contracts let traders hedge or speculate on the future price of computing resources such as cloud and GPU capacity. Neither outlet reported how much Kalshi is seeking or who the investors are. Reuters said Kalshi could not immediately be reached for comment.

The compute plan would take Kalshi beyond event contracts and into a market that AI developers, cloud providers and data centre operators could use to fix the cost of processing power in advance. It would also put the company up against established exchanges. According to Reuters, CME Group said earlier this year that it would work with Silicon Data to launch compute futures, pending regulatory review, and Intercontinental Exchange has also been reported to be preparing similar products.

The valuation has risen quickly. Coatue led a $1 billion round that valued Kalshi at $22 billion just over five months before the October raise, which Sequoia and Wellington co-led. Bloomberg reported that the October round had been expected to be Kalshi's last private raise before an eventual initial public offering. A person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that recent market volatility, which has made other companies hesitant to list, played no part in the decision to raise again.

According to Bloomberg, Kalshi's monthly notional trading volume more than doubled from about $40 billion in August to nearly $100 billion in October, with sports contracts driving much of the past year's growth. The company has gross margins of roughly 90% and annual run-rate revenue above $5 billion, Bloomberg reported.

Regulators have welcomed compute derivatives but are also cautious about them. Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Michael Selig said earlier this year that "America cannot win the AI race without a robust derivatives market for compute" and invited industry comment on such products. Reports earlier this week said the CFTC had postponed approval of futures contracts tied to GPU rental prices so that it could consult benchmark providers about the risk of price manipulation in the new asset class, Reuters noted.

Kalshi is also reducing some of its political exposure. On Thursday it ended its advisory relationship with Donald Trump Jr., a decision the company described as mutual, Bloomberg reported. The relationship began shortly before President Trump's second inauguration. Trump Jr. received Kalshi equity for the role, and his firm 1789 Capital made a large investment in rival Polymarket over the summer. Democrats gained ground in the recent midterm elections, and incoming Democratic lawmakers have said they will examine the Trump family's business ties to prediction markets and crypto. That scrutiny could affect Kalshi before any listing.

The CFTC's decision on GPU rental contracts will determine how soon compute futures can trade on a regulated US exchange. Until then, the new round is a bet on a market that does not yet exist.