Kalshi raises $1 billion at $40 billion valuation as Utah files charges

Kalshi, the US prediction market where people trade on the outcome of real-world events, announced on Thursday, 29 October 2026, that it had raised $1 billion in a Series G round at a post-money valuation of $40 billion. Sequoia and Wellington co-led the round, with Tiger Global and Dragoneer joining. The announcement came a day after Utah's Attorney General, Derek Brown, filed criminal charges against the company and its two co-founders, accusing them of promoting illegal online gambling.

A prediction market lets users buy contracts that pay out if a stated event happens, such as an election result, an interest-rate decision or the score of a match. The price of a contract moves with demand, so it also works as a crowd forecast of how likely the event is. Kalshi argues that it is regulated at the federal level in the United States, but several US states argue that many of its contracts, especially on sport, are simply bets that fall under their gambling laws.

The new round shows how much investors are willing to pay for that model despite the legal fight. In about five months Kalshi's valuation has moved from $22 billion to $40 billion. The company says it now wants to become a multi-asset exchange, which means offering trading in other kinds of financial products alongside event contracts. That would put it in competition with established brokers and exchanges, not only with betting sites.

The Utah case is the sharpest legal risk so far. According to the charging documents described in reports, an investigator using a Utah internet address opened an account in September and placed wagers on sporting events worth $114 over two weeks. The complaint lists 12 counts of online gambling promotion, one count of general gambling promotion and one count of a pattern of unlawful activity. The filing came a day after the US federal government sued Utah to stop the state's civil enforcement against the platform. In August a federal judge had ruled that federal law did not prevent Utah from enforcing its gaming laws against Kalshi. Only one other state, Arizona, had earlier tried a criminal case, and a federal judge blocked it.

For Indian founders and investors, the story is mainly about where global capital is flowing. Some of the biggest names in venture investing have backed a company whose core business is still being challenged in court, a sign of how much they value new kinds of trading products and the data they generate.

Short-term: Kalshi has $1 billion of fresh capital to fight its legal cases and widen its products, while its founders face criminal charges in Utah. No court date had been reported.

Long-term: The outcome of the state-versus-federal fight will decide whether prediction markets can offer sports and other event contracts across the United States, which in turn decides how much of Kalshi's valuation holds up.

Who is affected: Kalshi's users, staff and investors; rival prediction markets and betting companies; US state regulators; and investors worldwide watching fintech and trading start-ups.

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