Tarek Mansour, co-founder and CEO of Kalshi, has announced that the prominent prediction market company is contemplating a forthcoming IPO. Nevertheless, he dismissed the prospect of going public in 2026, suggesting a more feasible timeline for the debut would be around 2027 or 2028. These deliberations come in light of the company’s remarkable growth, which has led to a valuation surge to $22 billion and a tripling of revenue to $2 billion.

Kalshi is actively pursuing additional funding in a round that could potentially elevate its valuation to $40 billion, as indicated in a report by the Financial Times on Wednesday. This ambitious target would nearly double the company’s valuation within just three months, positioning it alongside some of the globe’s most valuable private firms.

This March, the company concluded a $1 billion Series F funding round at a valuation of $22 billion. Just a year prior, Kalshi’s valuation stood at $2 billion, which then escalated to $5 billion within four months and reached $11 billion by December 2025.

If Kalshi achieves a $40 billion valuation, it would rank just outside the top 15 unicorns, which are private companies valued at $1 billion or more. This would align Kalshi closely with Canva and Prometheus, which hold valuations of $42 billion and $41 billion, respectively.

The ongoing fundraising efforts reflect a growing interest in prediction market firms, as venture capitalists increasingly invest significant funds in Kalshi and, to a smaller degree, in Polymarket. However, a higher valuation in private markets does not necessarily imply that an IPO is imminent, especially as companies tend to remain private for extended periods.

Excluding companies like Anthropic and OpenAI, which are expected to go public later this year, Crunchbase data reveals that six unicorns are currently valued at over $101 billion, with another five valued between $50 billion and $75 billion.

In a CNBC interview on Wednesday, Mansour confirmed that Kalshi is contemplating an IPO, noting that it will not happen in 2026. He clarified that discussions are still in the initial stages internally and did not commit to a specific timeline other than ruling out this year.

“For a company with our financial profile and growth trajectory, such discussions are essential,” Mansour asserted to CNBC. “Questions arise, and we are certainly evaluating it, but we don’t have a definite answer at this stage.”

This interview followed reports from five days prior indicating that Kalshi is indeed considering an IPO in 2027 or 2028 and is engaging with investment banks about managing the offering. Furthermore, there are indications that Kalshi seeks to integrate its prediction market into client-facing platforms, enabling high-end professional clients to access the yes/no exchange directly.