Who owns Kalshi? CEO Tarek Mansour, Luana Lopes Lara and Kalshi stock (2026)
Kalshi is a private company run by its two co-founders and backed by venture investors. Who they are, what Kalshi is worth, and whether you can buy Kalshi stock.
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Kalshi is owned by its two co-founders, Tarek Mansour (CEO) and Luana Lopes Lara (COO), its employees and a group of venture investors led by firms such as Paradigm, Sequoia, Andreessen Horowitz and Coatue. It is a private company: there is no Kalshi stock on any public exchange, and as of October 2026 the company has not filed for an IPO.
Here is who runs Kalshi, who backs it, what it is worth and what "Kalshi stock" actually means if you see it advertised.
Kalshi at a glance
| Founded | 2018, New York |
| Founders | Tarek Mansour (CEO) and Luana Lopes Lara (COO) |
| What it is | A prediction market exchange regulated by the CFTC (a designated contract market since 2020) |
| Ownership | Private: founders, employees and venture investors |
| Last confirmed valuation | $22 billion (2026 round led by Coatue) |
| Publicly traded? | No. No ticker, no IPO filing |
Figures as of October 2026. Funding and valuation news moves fast; treat anything newer than our date as a report until the company confirms it.
Who founded Kalshi?
Mansour and Lopes Lara met as students at MIT and started Kalshi in 2018 with an unusual plan: instead of launching a crypto betting site and asking forgiveness later, they applied to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to run a fully regulated exchange for event contracts, contracts that pay $1 if something happens and $0 if it does not. Approval came in 2020 after a long review, and Kalshi became the first US exchange built specifically for trading on real-world events.
The company then spent years in court and in front of regulators. Its best-known fight was over election markets: the CFTC blocked Kalshi's contracts on which party would control Congress, Kalshi sued, and a federal court sided with Kalshi in September 2024, which is why Americans could legally trade the 2024 election on a regulated exchange. Today the open legal question is sports contracts, covered in is Kalshi legal in your state.
Tarek Mansour, Kalshi's CEO
Mansour is the public face of the company: he leads fundraising, the legal and regulatory strategy and the partnerships that put Kalshi's markets inside brokerage apps such as Robinhood. He has described Kalshi's goal as turning opinions on any question into a tradable price, the same way stock and futures markets price companies and commodities.
Luana Lopes Lara, co-founder and COO
Lopes Lara, who grew up in Brazil and studied computer science at MIT, runs operations. Before Kalshi she trained as a professional ballet dancer. After Kalshi's December 2025 round, Forbes listed both co-founders as billionaires, calling Lopes Lara the youngest self-made woman billionaire, and estimated that each founder owns roughly 12% of the company.
Who are Kalshi's investors?
Kalshi has raised money from a long list of venture firms and financial institutions, including Paradigm, Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Coatue, IVP, Y Combinator, Morgan Stanley and ARK Invest. None of them controls the company on its own; the founders still run it.
Two names often confuse people:
- Robinhood does not own Kalshi. It is a distribution partner: many of the prediction markets Robinhood customers trade are Kalshi contracts routed from the Robinhood app.
- Donald Trump Jr. joined Kalshi as a strategic adviser in January 2025. He is an adviser, not an owner. (He also sits on Polymarket's advisory board; see who owns Polymarket.)
How much is Kalshi worth?
Kalshi's valuation has climbed faster than almost any fintech in the last two years, driven by sports and election trading volume:
| Round | When | Valuation |
|---|---|---|
| Series C | mid-2025 | about $2 billion |
| Series D | autumn 2025 | about $5 billion |
| Series E ($1B, led by Paradigm) | December 2025 | $11 billion |
| Series F ($1B, led by Coatue) | spring 2026 | $22 billion |
| New round (reported, not confirmed) | autumn 2026 | about $40 billion |
The last row is a press report of negotiations; until the company announces it, $22 billion is the most recent confirmed figure.
Can you buy Kalshi stock?
Not on the stock market. Kalshi has no ticker and no IPO. In mid-2026 Mansour said the company was considering a public listing but ruled out going public in 2026.
What exists instead:
- Secondary markets for private shares. Accredited investors can sometimes buy shares from early employees or investors on private-share marketplaces. Supply is thin, prices are set privately, and the company can restrict transfers.
- Indirect exposure. Some public companies earn money from prediction markets, such as brokerages that route event-contract trades. That is exposure to the industry, not to Kalshi.
- Scams. Any "Kalshi token", "Kalshi coin" or pre-IPO offer sent to you unsolicited is not from Kalshi. The company does not issue a token.
None of this is investment advice. If what you want is exposure to the outcomes Kalshi lists, the product itself is the event contract: see how Kalshi works.
Who owns Kalshi: frequently asked questions
Who is the CEO of Kalshi?
Tarek Mansour, who co-founded the company in 2018 with Luana Lopes Lara.
Is Kalshi a public company?
No. It is privately held by its founders, employees and venture investors, and there is no Kalshi stock price because the shares do not trade publicly.
Is Kalshi owned by Robinhood?
No. Robinhood is a partner that offers Kalshi's contracts to its customers; it is not Kalshi's owner.
Is Kalshi regulated by the government?
It is regulated by the CFTC, the federal agency that oversees US futures exchanges, but it is a private company, not a government entity. Is it safe to use? Read is Kalshi legit.
What is Kalshi's valuation?
$22 billion after its 2026 Series F, with a higher round reported to be in negotiation in autumn 2026.
