Topline
Donald Trump Jr.-linked venture fund, 1789 Capital, is leading a new round of funding for Polymarket at a valuation of $21 billion, according to multiple reports, in a move that comes amid an increased push by states to regulate betting on these platforms.
Key Facts
According to Bloomberg, which first reported on the investment, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter, Polymarket will raise $1 billion in the funding round, with 1789 Capital investing around $300 million.
1789 Capital—where President Donald Trump’s eldest son serves as a partner—made a “strategic investment” in Polymarket last year.
At the time, the company didn’t disclose the terms of the investment but announced that Trump Jr. had joined its advisory board.
In March, the New York Stock Exchange’s parent company, Intercontinental Exchange, invested an additional $600 million in Polymarket, bringing its total investment in the company to $1.6 billion.
Polymarket’s key rival Kalshi raised $1 billion in April at a similar $22 billion valuation in a funding round that involved Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Morgan Stanley and others.
What Do We Know About 1789’s Earlier Investment In Polymarket?
Citing people familiar with the investments, the Wall Street Journal reported that 1789 Capital’s latest cash infusion makes it one of Polymarket’s largest investors, following a prior $200 million investment in the platform. In a press release announcing last year’s investment, Polymarket said Trump Jr. will bring “decades of experience” to its advisory board as the company pushes to increase global adoption of its platform. At the time, Trump Jr. hailed Polymarket as the “largest prediction market in the world” and said the U.S. “needs access to this important platform.” The president’s son claimed the betting market number helps people cut through “media spin and so-called ‘expert’ opinion by letting people bet on what they actually believe will happen in the world.”
Tangent
In January last year, several months before 1789 Capital’s investment in Polymarket, Kalshi announced Trump Jr. had joined as a Strategic Advisor to the company. The announcement took a swipe at what it claimed was a “fractured, often biased media landscape” and said Trump Jr. would bring a fresh perspective to the company. Kalshi also touted that, unlike Kalshi, the mainstream media had “failed to anticipate President-Elect Trump’s decisive victory” in the 2024 presidential election. Trump Jr. echoed this sentiment in an X post that read: “On Election night at Mar-a-Lago, while biased outlets called the race a coin toss, my family and close friends used the prediction market Kalshi to know we won hours ahead of the fake news media.” According to the Financial Times, Trump Jr. was given a $300,000 stake in Kalshi when he joined as advisor in January 2025. The value of his stake has likely risen manyfold as Kalshi has raised funding at much higher valuations since then.
What To Watch For
Earlier this month, The Information reported that Kalshi has topped $4 billion in annualized revenue and is planning another fundraising round at a $40 billion valuation. Kalshi’s target is nearly double that of Polymarket’s latest reported fundraise, marking a major change in fortunes for the two companies in the past year. In October last year, after Intercontinental Exchange invested $1 billion in Polymarket, the crypto-based platform was valued at $9 billion, while Kalshi’s valuation stood at $5 billion.
Further reading
Polymarket Funding Led By 1789 Values Firm at $21 Billion (Bloomberg)