Polymarket Reportedly Eyeing $20B Valuation in Latest Financing Round

Polymarket, one of the world’s largest prediction market operators, is reportedly looking to raise fresh capital at a valuation of $20 billion.

The news was reported earlier today by Bloomberg and arrives about four months after Shayne Coplan’s company was said to have closed a $1 billion financing round valuing the all-or-nothing exchange at $15 billion. In early April, it was reported that Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE: ICE), the owner of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), invested another $600 million in Polymarket. It’s believed that was followed up by an additional $400 million from other investors, including hedge fund D.E. Shaw and venture capital firm G Squared.

News of Polymarket’s rumored capital quest arrives amid booming volume on prediction markets. With a big assist from the World Cup, average daily volume on yes/no exchanges reached $1.9 billion last month, according to Jefferies analyst Daniel Fannon.

Citing unidentified sources with knowledge of the potential capital raise, Bloomberg reports that in recent months, Polymarket’s annualized revenue tripled to $1.2 billion.

Polymarket a Rising Unicorn

There’s been speculation, albeit unconfirmed, about a potential initial public offering (IPO) by Polymarket. That is to say the company remains privately held, but it is a “unicorn.”

Unicorns are privately held companies valued at least $1 billion. If Polymarket were to confirm that it raised capital at a valuation of $15 billion, it’d be tied with four other companies, including Discord, for the 31^st spot on CBInsights’ rankings of the most valuable unicorns.

Assuming the prediction market operator raises capital at a $20 billion multiple, it’d jump eight spots on that list, putting it in a tie with Chobani and Perplexity.

At a $20 billion valuation, Polymarket would be more valuable than all of the US-listed sportsbook operators as well as all of the domestically traded casino companies except for Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS).

Pro Investors Love Prediction Markets

Despite myriad industry-wide legal and regulatory controversies stemming from sports event contracts, prediction markets continue wooing professional and venture investors who see long-term potential in the yes/no model.

The aforementioned Polymarket rumor is proof positive of that robust appetite and is all the more impressive when considering that Polymarket only recently commenced a phased rollout of its prediction market in the U.S.

In the investment community, it appears as though prevailing sentiment is that over the long-term, prediction market operators such as Polymarket will see reduced reliance on sports derivatives while other categories and institutional use cases, including hedging and access to complex markets, rise.