The prediction market space has been on a heater this year, but Kalshi just turned up the thermostat. According to a new funding report from Kalshi, the regulated event contract exchange has raised $1 billion in fresh capital, instantly pushing its valuation to a staggering $11 billion. This jump places Kalshi firmly in unicorn territory and officially removes any doubt about whether prediction markets are entering the mainstream.
A Meteoric Rise That Keeps Getting Louder
Kalshi’s valuation story looks like a tech startup speedrun. The company was valued at $2 billion in June 2025, then $5 billion in October, and now sits at $11 billion after a Paradigm-led Series E funding round. That is not hype. It is math. Even the most cynical analysts would have to admit that tripling your valuation in under six months qualifies as momentum.
The fuel behind the surge is real usage. Reports indicate that since mid-October, Kalshi has cleared over $1 billion in weekly volume, and it expects monthly trading volume for November to surpass $5.8 billion. For comparison, that places Kalshi in the same conversation as mid-tier crypto exchanges, state lottery systems, and certain sports betting operators that have been around for decades.
The Rumored CNN Partnership
The most eyebrow-raising detail today is the rumored agreement between Kalshi and CNN. Under the proposed deal, CNN would integrate Kalshi’s real-time event contract data into its news coverage. This would give CNN a live, data-based probability feed for elections, economic indicators, global events, entertainment outcomes, and more. For media watchers, this could be the biggest upgrade to TV news graphics since the invention of the crawl.
Prediction markets have long been used by academics and insiders as a more accurate way to measure sentiment than polling. If a major network like CNN adopts Kalshi data, entire audiences may begin treating market probabilities the same way they treat stock tickers. The shift would be massive. It would also legitimize the entire sector overnight.
Sports Still Drives The Bus
Kalshi’s growth is not happening in a vacuum. A significant chunk of recent activity is tied to sports related event contracts. Retail bettors already understand lines, totals and odds. Event contracts simply give them another way to express a trading opinion. The setup is also different from traditional wagering. Kalshi is regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and operates as a federally regulated exchange. It does not function as a sportsbook, which allows users to trade outcomes directly with each other.
This structure has created a gray area for critics and regulators. The CFTC has tightened rules before and could always revisit the boundaries again. But for now, Kalshi’s model is fully legal and fully operational across the United States.
Why This Moment Matters
If the CNN partnership becomes real, prediction market data will move from niche communities into everyday news consumption. Anyone watching election coverage could see real-time probabilities rather than outdated polling averages. Anyone watching financial news could see market-priced odds on interest rate decisions rather than a panel of talking heads. And anyone following sports, culture, or weather could see quantified probabilities instead of speculation.
For media companies, creators, and analysts, this creates a massive opportunity. The appetite for data-based content will skyrocket. This is especially true in the sports betting world, where tools like Kalshi offer a new layer of real-time information that bettors can follow.
Kalshi’s jump to an $11 billion valuation, fueled by a $1 billion Series E, signals a new era for prediction markets. Its rumored deal with CNN could push event contract data into the mainstream and fundamentally reshape how the public consumes information. Whether you trade, bet, create content or simply enjoy watching chaos from the sidelines, one thing is clear. Prediction markets are no longer whispering. They are yelling.
