Two Major Prediction Market Platforms Join Forces Unexpectedly, What's the Background of This New Fund?

Title: Two Leading Prediction Market Platforms’ CEOs Join Forces — What’s Behind This “Rookie” Fund?

Author: Nicky, Foresight News

The two biggest competitors in the prediction market space have reached a rare consensus on one thing.

On March 23, according to Fortune magazine, early Kalshi employee Adhi Rajaprabhakaran and Noah Zingler-Sternig are launching a venture capital fund called 5c© Capital, aiming to raise up to $35 million to invest in prediction market startups. The fund is expected to complete its first funding round within the next month.

This fund has received co-investments from Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour and Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan. The rare collaboration between the CEOs of these two leading platforms marks a milestone in the prediction market industry.

In addition to the CEOs of Kalshi and Polymarket, early supporters include venture capital giant Marc Andreessen (through Moneta Luna Fund), Ribbit Capital founder Micky Malka, and Kyle Samani, former co-founder of Multicoin Capital.

Marc Andreessen is a co-founder of a16z, and Kyle Samani announced on February 5 this year that he stepped down from his role at Multicoin Capital and exited the firm. Their involvement underscores the significance and uniqueness of this fund. Elena Silenok, founder and managing partner of Moneta Luna, expressed strong confidence in Adhi’s investment ability. Kyle stated that the next few years are critical for building infrastructure around prediction markets.

The rivalry between Kalshi and Polymarket is well known. Kalshi follows a regulated, CFTC-compliant path, while Polymarket operates natively in crypto, leading to long-standing competition over user acquisition, market share, and regulatory battles. However, when early Kalshi employees sought funding, the CEOs of both platforms chose to appear together on the investor list.

The logic behind this move is straightforward. The growth of prediction markets has exceeded expectations: Kalshi’s valuation soared from $2 billion in June 2025 to $22 billion in March, while Polymarket received a $2 billion strategic investment from Intercontinental Exchange in October 2025, bringing its valuation to $20 billion.

However, industry growth faces bottlenecks such as insufficient market maker depth, lack of index products, and infrastructure fragmentation—all issues that cannot be solved by a single platform alone. Perhaps, in the eyes of the CEOs, supporting a fund focused on ecosystem infrastructure is more valuable than continuing to compete on existing tracks. Instead of fighting separately, they choose to grow the pie together.

The name 5c© Capital is derived from Section 5c© of the Commodity Exchange Act, titled “New Contracts, New Rules.” The fund’s website explains that this name reflects its core philosophy: lasting innovation comes from combining new ideas with regulated standards. Multiple media outlets have described this fund as the first dedicated VC fund in the prediction market industry.

According to fundraising documents, the fund plans to invest in about 20 companies over the next two years, including market makers, index design tools, and other infrastructure projects around event contracts.

Market makers are the core of liquidity in prediction markets. Currently, open interest has reached $924 million, but most contracts still face large bid-ask spreads and insufficient depth. Professional market makers can provide continuous quotes for various event contracts, reducing trading costs for users and improving market efficiency.

Index design tools are key to upgrading prediction markets from “single-event betting” to standardized financial products. Just as traditional finance has indices like S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100, prediction markets also need standardized index products to help users track the overall performance of certain categories of event contracts. Infrastructure-wise, this includes order book design, clearing mechanisms, and compliance frameworks.

These components together form the “upstream and downstream” of prediction markets—an entire ecosystem, not just a few trading platforms.

5c© Capital was co-founded by two early Kalshi employees. Adhi Rajaprabhakaran serves as Founding Managing Partner; he joined Kalshi in 2022, working as a market maker and becoming the firm’s second professional trader, with over five years of prediction market trading experience. He also runs a Substack column called “50¢ Dollars,” focusing on regulation and commercial analysis of prediction markets, and hosts related podcasts. Adhi holds a Master’s in Economics from the University of Texas at Austin and a Bachelor’s in Economics and Data Science from Michigan State University.

Noah Zingler-Sternig is a Founding General Partner; he previously served as Operations Lead at Kalshi, responsible for market support, trader services, and Robinhood integration projects. His prediction market experience dates back to high school (around 2017), when he earned over $100,000 trading prediction markets to pay for college. Noah graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Finance, Investment, and Banking, and previously worked as an analyst at J.P. Morgan’s Commercial Banking division.

The fund’s advisor, Ella Papanek, also has a deep background in prediction markets. She graduated from Harvard University’s Department of Statistics, worked as a quantitative sports trader at Susquehanna International Group (SIG) for about three years, and was an early tester and active participant in prediction markets like Augur, Kalshi, and Polymarket. She is also an international chess player, ranked among the top 100 women in the U.S.

The rapid expansion of prediction markets has also attracted regulatory attention. As Kalshi and Polymarket expand into sports betting markets, U.S. Senators Adam Schiff and John Curtis plan to introduce a bipartisan bill this week to ban entities regulated by the CFTC (including Kalshi and Polymarket’s U.S. platforms) from offering sports-related contracts.

In mid-March, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes filed criminal charges against Kalshi, alleging that although Kalshi claims to be a “prediction market,” it is actually operating illegal gambling and accepting bets on Arizona elections—both violations of state law.

Despite legal challenges, the fundraising documents for 5c© Capital describe prediction markets as a “generational investment opportunity.” The founders aim to leverage their industry experience and networks to provide capital and operational support for this emerging ecosystem. The fund’s website states: “We believe event contracts and prediction markets will fundamentally change how we perceive risk-taking.” This view is also reflected in data and capital flows.

According to Dune Analytics, as of March 24, the prediction market has over 2.8 million unique users, with open interest reaching $924 million, nominal trading volume at $152.4 billion, and total trades amounting to 672 million. In the past week alone, nominal volume exceeded $6.4 billion.

Kalshi is currently raising a new round at a $22 billion valuation, led by Coatue Management, with over $1 billion sought. Its competitor Polymarket is in talks with potential investors at an estimated valuation of around $20 billion.