Kalshi and Polymarket weigh funding at $20B valuations.

Prediction markets platforms Kalshi and Polymarket are each exploring fundraising rounds worth about $20 billion, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

Both companies have recently had early discussions with investors about new funding rounds, people familiar with the matter said. Each platform was last valued at roughly half of last year's end.

The talks remain preliminary and may not lead to deals, and there's no guarantee either company will prove that value as scrutiny on speculative markets increases.

Kalshi operates in the United States, providing markets on topics ranging from sports and politics to economic events and pop culture. The company was valued at about $11 billion after investors including Paradigm and Sequoia Capital raised $1 billion in December.

In the year

The company recently surpassed $1 billion in annual revenue, and some estimates put the figure closer to $1.5 billion.

In the year Polymarket, founded by Shane Coplan in 2020, currently restricts users to the US but plans to launch a streamlined local version of its system this year.

The platform was eventually valued at $9 billion in October after New York Stock Exchange owner Intercontinental Exchange agreed to invest up to $2 billion.

Both companies have recently faced scrutiny in markets linked to geopolitical events, including a possible U.S. attack on Iran and the future of Iran's supreme leader.

Legislators are beginning to push for stricter controls. U.S. Reps. Blake Moore and Salud Carbajal have introduced legislation that would limit prediction markets from offering contracts related to topics such as war and sports.

Similarly, both companies aggressively pursued new users through social media advertising and campus outreach programs targeting college communities.