Novig, a prediction market focused on sports, has successfully secured $75 million in a Series B funding round led by Pantera Capital, a notable blockchain venture firm, bringing the company’s valuation to around $500 million as it aims for nationwide expansion under federal regulations.
This latest funding round elevates Novig’s total capital raised to over $105 million, as announced by the company this Wednesday. The round also saw participation from Multicoin Capital, Makers Fund, Edge Equity, and existing investors including Forerunner, Perceptive Ventures, and NFX.
Operating a commission-free, peer-to-peer sports trading platform, Novig reported a remarkable tenfold rise in trading volume throughout 2025, with an annualized volume surpassing $4 billion.
In contrast to conventional sportsbooks that set customers against the house, Novig utilizes an order-book exchange allowing traders to compete, which empowers market dynamics to determine odds. Retail traders incur no commission fees, with the platform instead collecting charges from institutional players.
“Our goal is to democratize and financialize sports markets, and we take pride in the fact that Novig users have ten times better odds of winning compared to traditional sportsbooks,” stated Jacob Fortinsky, Co-Founder and CEO of Novig.
The company has applied to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to attain a license as a Designated Contract Market, enabling it to operate across all 50 U.S. states under federal supervision.
Following court rulings that expanded the framework for event-based contracts in the U.S., prediction markets have garnered heightened interest from both regulators and investors. A significant portion of recent growth in this sector has been attributed to trading related to sports.
Novig aims to establish itself as a sports-centric alternative to larger competitors like Kalshi and Polymarket, positing that these platforms were not initially designed with sports traders in mind and may prove costly for frequent users.
“Novig is demonstrating that prediction markets have the potential to fundamentally transform sports betting by eliminating the predatory middleman,” remarked Paul Veradittakit, managing partner at Pantera Capital. “Their peer-to-peer exchange offers what traditional sportsbooks cannot: superior odds, a fair market structure, and an alignment of success between the platform and its users.”
Approximately 23% of Novig users achieve profitability, while traditional sportsbooks see only around 2%, as mentioned by Veradittakit, who deemed the model “a fundamental shift in the industry.”
Founded in 2021 by Fortinsky and Kelechi Ukah, Novig intends to utilize the new funding to enhance product development, improve liquidity, and advance its trading tools. The company’s workforce has expanded to over 50 employees.
“Novig merges the cultural essence of sports with the transparency and efficiency of prediction markets,” said Ukah, the co-founder and chief technology officer. “Given that most prediction market activity occurs in sports, it’s essential to create a platform tailored specifically for sports traders.”