Pile of Famous Athletes Quietly Invested in Kalshi Months Ago

Giannis Antetokounmpo shook the sports world when he announced in February he was investing in prediction-market platform Kalshi. 

But Kalshi already had famous athlete-investors. 

As part of the company’s December Series E round—which in total raised $1 billion at an $11 billion valuation—Kalshi picked up the following investors: 

• Two-time WNBA MVP Breanna Stewart
• WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike
• WNBA legend Diana Taurasi
• Ajay Mitchell of the NBA’s Thunder
• Jaime Jaquez Jr. of the Heat
• Former NFL stars Marshawn Lynch and Richard Sherman
• UCLA standout Gabriela Jaquez (who is expected to be selected in the first round of the WNBA draft next week)

The athletes invested as part of a $4.7 million slice of the total $1 billion investment. Their investment came through Factory Holdings, which bills itself as a “family office platform built for athletes, entertainers, and next-generation wealth creators,” according to a Thursday statement.

Kalshi did not name any of the athlete-investors when it announced the Series E. The round was led by existing Kalshi backer Paradigm and featured participation from other major venture-capital firms like Sequoia and Andreessen Horowitz.

Kyle Kuzma of the Bucks is also a Kalshi investor, and Kevin Durant is invested in the platform through 35V, the venture fund he cofounded with agent Rich Kleiman.

There is no specific policy prohibiting NBA players from endorsing prediction markets, a person familiar with the matter previously told Front Office Sports, although players are not allowed to promote specific NBA-related event contracts.

Thursday’s press release comes as Kalshi is reportedly raising an additional $1 billion at a staggering $22 billion valuation.

Evolving Prediction-Market Ecosystem

Kalshi has stacked up the standout list of athlete-investors as it deals with numerous lawsuits over the legality of sports event contracts. Earlier this week, Kalshi scored a major legal win in one of those cases, with an appeals court ruling New Jersey cannot stop it from offering sports event contracts while its case against state gambling regulators plays out. Experts say the issue will ultimately reach the U.S. Supreme Court. The prediction-market industry has also recently begun to face significant pushback from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle who are concerned about sports event contracts and potential insider trading.

While Kalshi continues grabbing athlete-investors, it has thus far trailed in the sports partnership battle with rival Polymarket. Both are official partners of the NHL, but Polymarket landed MLB and also has agreements with UFC, MLS, and Spanish soccer league LaLiga. Kalshi has deals of its own with Pro Padel League and 6-on-6 soccer association Baller League.

Eagles running back Saquon Barkley is reportedly an investor in Polymarket, although a person familiar with the matter tells FOS that NFL rules prohibit players from investing in, and promoting, sportsbooks and prediction-market platforms. It’s unclear whether the league has taken action over Barkley’s Polymarket stake, and the league has declined to comment.

The war to win prediction-market supremacy has ramped up over the last year, with traditional sports betting giants like DraftKings and FanDuel launching their own platforms and other companies, like Robinhood and Crypto.com, also getting in on the game.

Kalshi currently has a dominant position in the U.S., according to a recent report from Bank of America, which says Kalshi’s market share is more than 90%. The platform has seen weekly trading volume rise from roughly $100 million a year ago to more than $3 billion, “making it one of the fastest growing non-AI companies,” according to Bank of America.