Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour has said the prediction markets platform is “thinking about” an IPO amid reports the business could be going public.
Speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box on Wednesday, 24 June, Mansour revealed that while the business won’t list in 2026, it is in the early stages of preparing for a float.
The Information reported last week that the Manhattan-based firm could plot a listing in 2027 or 2028.
Mansour said: “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.”
The CEO’s comments also came after the Financial Times reported Kalshi is seeking a fresh valuation of $40bn (£30.3bn), just months after a Series F funding round valued the firm at $22bn.
The report claimed Kalshi could achieve the valuation on the back of a new capital raises as soon as Q3.
In comparison, Flutter Entertainment’s market cap is $17.1bn, while DraftKings is worth $12.2bn.
The online sports betting and igaming giants have seen their shares slump under the threat of prediction markets in the US.
DraftKings is down 43% in the past 12 months to $24.53, while FanDuel parent Flutter’s stock has plunged 63% to $98.51.
A $40bn valuation would make Kalshi worth more than the current most valuable publicly listed gambling business in the world, Las Vegas Sands.
Las Vegas Sands, which owns and operates six land-based casinos across the globe, has a market cap of $31.7bn.
Kalshi’s main prediction markets rival, Polymarket, was most recently reported to be eyeing a valuation of $15bn.
The Series F, in which Kalshi raised $1bn to reach the $22bn valuation, was announced in May.
At the time of the announcement, Kalshi claimed trading on its platform accounted for 90% of all prediction market activity in the US and the “majority” of global trading volume.
Mansour said at the time: “Event contracts could become a trillion-dollar market, and we’re still in the early stages of that transition.”
In recent weeks, Kalshi has rolled out new features including perpetual futures, or ‘perps’ as they are commonly known, which are futures contracts without an expiration date.
The prediction market rolled out perps on crypto this month and within the first 24 hours reported more than $100m in trading volume.
Within a week of launching, total volume breached the $1bn mark, according to the company.
The operator has also expanded north of the border into Canada thanks to a partnership with online investment management service Wealthsimple.
However, Kalshi has added India to its list of restricted jurisdictions after the government blocked access to prediction market platforms.
In other prediction markets news, Novig and ProphetX have secured approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to offer event contracts.
Tech giant Meta is also reportedly exploring building out a prediction markets app, though it would not involve real-money trading at launch.
The post Kalshi CEO confirms business is “thinking about” an IPO first appeared on EGR Intel.
Tarek Mansour says public listing wouldn’t happen until after 2026, while the Financial Times reports the New York-based prediction market is plotting a $40bn valuation with new raise
The post Kalshi CEO confirms business is “thinking about” an IPO first appeared on EGR Intel.