Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour has confirmed the prediction markets platform is considering a stock market listing, with reports the Manhattan-based firm could pursue a float as soon as 2027 — and a new capital raise targeting a $40bn valuation, up sharply from the $22bn it achieved in May.
What Mansour said
Speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box on 24 June, Mansour stopped short of committing to a timeline but made clear that an IPO is a live question internally.
“A company of our financial profile with the rate of growth that we’re seeing, that sort of conversation has to happen. People start asking that question. And we’re basically thinking about it, but obviously, we don’t have an answer yet.” — Tarek Mansour, CEO, Kalshi
Mansour ruled out a listing in 2026. The Information reported last week that 2027 or 2028 is the more likely window.
The $40bn figure
The Financial Times reported separately that Kalshi is seeking a fresh valuation of $40bn on the back of a new capital raise, with a deal potentially closing as early as Q3 2026. That would represent an 82% jump from the $22bn valuation Kalshi secured in its Series F funding round, announced in May, when it raised $1bn.
At that time, Kalshi claimed trading on its platform accounted for 90% of all prediction market activity in the US and the majority of global volume. Mansour said at the Series F announcement: “Event contracts could become a trillion-dollar market, and we’re still in the early stages of that transition.”
Context: how the number stacks up
A $40bn valuation would place Kalshi above Las Vegas Sands — which owns and operates six land-based casinos globally and currently carries a market cap of $31.7bn — making it the most valuable gambling-related business in the world by that measure.
It would also dwarf the two largest US-listed online sports betting operators. Flutter Entertainment, the FanDuel parent, has a market cap of $17.1bn after its stock fell 63% over the past 12 months to $98.51. DraftKings is at $12.2bn, with shares down 43% over the same period to $24.53. Both have attributed part of their decline to competitive pressure from prediction markets eating into their addressable market.
Kalshi’s main rival, Polymarket, was most recently valued at $15bn.
Recent product moves
In the weeks around the IPO commentary, Kalshi has expanded its product range. It launched perpetual futures — contracts without an expiration date — on crypto this month, reporting more than $100m in trading volume within the first 24 hours and over $1bn in total volume within the first week.
The company also entered Canada through a partnership with online investment management service Wealthsimple. Separately, Kalshi added India to its list of restricted jurisdictions after the government blocked access to prediction market platforms.
A widening field
Kalshi is not operating in a vacuum. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has approved event contract offerings from Novig and ProphetX, adding to the competitive landscape. Tech giant Meta is also reportedly exploring a prediction markets app, though it would not involve real-money trading at launch.
Flutter has separately been reviewing its own listing arrangements, weighing whether to maintain its primary listing in the US or shift back to London — a reminder that capital markets strategy is live across the broader gambling sector, not just among prediction market entrants.
Whether Kalshi converts its current momentum into a public listing at the valuations now being floated will depend in part on how regulators treat the sector and whether the platform’s growth rate holds through the run-up to any offering.
Source: Kalshi
