Two early Kalshi graduates are raising up to $35 million for 5c(c) Capital, a fund backed by the CEOs of Kalshi and Polymarket to invest in market makers, indicators and tools for prediction markets.
summary
- Former Kalshi employees are raising up to $35 million to support startups in prediction market infrastructure.
- The new fund, 5c(c) Capital, is backed by Kalshi CEO Tariq Mansour, Polymarket CEO Shane Coplan, and senior investment firms.
- The vehicle plans to make about 20 investments over two years across market makers, indicators and tools for event-based markets.
Former employees in the place of a regulated forecasting market everything It is raising up to $35 million for a new investment fund aimed directly at the rapidly maturing prediction market ecosystem, according to a filing and people familiar with the effort. This vehicle, called 5c(c) Capital, is led by two of Calci’s early team members and plans to back approximately 20 startups over the next two years, with a focus on market makers, indicator design, and core infrastructure for event-driven trading. They arrive as structured and regulated predictive platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket See sustained monthly volumes in the double digits and billions and intense institutional interest.
The fund has already received backing from Kalshi CEO Tariq Mansour and Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan, along with investors associated with Andreessen Horowitz, Ribbit Capital and Multicoin Capital, ChainCatcher reported. This cross-platform support is notable given the public rivalry between the founders, with Coplan having previously dismissed Calci as a “Polymarket copycat” in media appearances as the two companies compete over liquidity, listing and regulatory terrain. “What we’re seeing now is investors pledging the rails and tools that make these markets possible, not just the main venues,” said one person involved in the raise, who was not authorized to speak publicly.
The timing underscores how prediction markets have moved from speculative status to a recognized part of financial markets. In February, Kalshi was treated $9.8 billion In trading volume, almost ahead of Polymarket $7.6 billionwith wider sector access $23.4 billion In activity, according to recent industry research. In both places, ultra-short-term “five-minute up or down” contracts on major crypto assets now drive the majority of crypto-related trading flows, blurring the line between hedging and high-frequency gambling.
This growth has attracted heavy investment capital and large liquidity companies looking for new ways to price political risk, macro data, and volatility of digital assets. by the focus In terms of market making, indicators, and instruments rather than consumer-facing platforms, 5c(c) Capital is effectively betting that prediction markets will resemble a stack of exchanges: a handful of front-ends sitting on top of a platform. Deepen A layer of specialized infrastructure. If the fund reaches its fullness 35 million dollars When targeted and deployed at 20 companies, average check sizes will reach the single-digit millions, enough to seed seed rounds for the next generation of teams building liquidity engines, risk systems and structured products for event-driven trading.
According to crypto.news analysis From five-minute crypto contracts on Polymarket and Kalshi, its breakdown of its $23.4 billion February forecast volume, and ongoing coverage of venture capital inflows to event-based trading platforms.
