Former Kalshi employees are raising capital for 5c(c) Capital, a venture firm focused on prediction market infrastructure.
Two early Kalshi employees are raising up to $35 million for what may be the first venture fund dedicated to prediction market startups, according to a pitch document seen by Fortune.
The fund, called 5c(c) Capital, is led by Adhi Rajaprabhakaran, the second trader hired at Kalshi’s affiliated market maker, and Noah Zingler-Sternig, Kalshi’s former head of operations, Fortune reported. The fund’s name references Section 5c(c) of the Commodity Exchange Act, the clause that grants the CFTC oversight of event contracts offered by Designated Contract Markets.
Notably, Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour and Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan, whose companies are locked in a multibillion-dollar valuation war and have a well-documented public rivalry, have both invested in the fund.
Other backers include Marc Andreessen through Moneta Luna, Ribbit Capital founder Micky Malka, and former Multicoin Capital managing partner Kyle Samani. Bloomberg reported that the fund has more than 20 investors.
The fund plans to back roughly 20 companies over the next two years, targeting market makers, prediction market index providers, and other infrastructure-layer businesses, per Fortune.
The launch comes as prediction market valuations have surged. Kalshi raised $1 billion at a $22 billion valuation in a round led by Coatue Management, roughly doubling its $11 billion November mark, as The Defiant reported. Polymarket is eyeing a similar valuation of around $20 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal.
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Source: https://thedefiant.io/news/tradfi-and-fintech/kalshi-and-polymarket-ceos-back-usd35m-prediction-market-venture-fund
