Kalshi Alumni Raise Up to $35M for 5c(c) Capital

Former employees from Kalshi are raising up to $35 million for a new venture fund focused on prediction market startups. The effort adds another sign that investors are looking beyond trading venues and into the infrastructure that supports event-driven markets.

Good to Know

• 5c(c) Capital plans to invest in about 20 startups over the next two years.
• The fund is targeting market makers, index design, and tooling for prediction markets.
• Backers already include leaders tied to Kalshi, Polymarket, and major crypto and fintech investment circles.

New Fund Targets the Plumbing Behind Prediction Markets

A new fund called 5c(c) Capital is taking shape around one of the fastest-growing corners of online trading. The vehicle is being led by two early Kalshi team members, according to a filing and people familiar with the raise, and the target is up to $35 million.

Instead of going after consumer-facing prediction platforms directly, the fund is aiming at the layer underneath. That includes market makers, pricing systems, index products, liquidity tools, and core infrastructure for event-driven trading. In simple terms, 5c(c) Capital is looking at the parts that help prediction markets run better, price faster, and scale more cleanly.

That angle matters because the sector has been growing well beyond niche status. Regulated prediction platform Kalshi and on-chain platform Polymarket have both posted sustained monthly volume in the double-digit billions, drawing more attention from traders, builders, and institutional investors. As a result, venture money is now reaching not only marketplaces but also the software, data, and trading rails behind them.

ChainCatcher reported that Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour and Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan are among the backers already tied to the fund. Investors linked to Andreessen Horowitz, Ribbit Capital, and Multicoin Capital are also involved. For a market that often splits into regulated and crypto-native camps, that mix stands out.

Publicly, the relationship between top names in the space has not always looked friendly. Coplan previously dismissed Kalshi as “a Polymarket copycat” in media appearances as both firms compete for liquidity, listings, and regulatory terrain. Even so, money from both sides now appears to be lining up behind the same broader thesis: prediction markets need better infrastructure if the category is going to keep growing.

One person involved in the raise, who was not authorized to speak publicly, summed up that logic clearly. “What we’re seeing now is investors underwriting the rails and tools that make these markets possible, not just the flagship venues,” said one person involved in the raise, who was not authorized to speak publicly.

For founders building in prediction markets, event contracts, index products, trading APIs, liquidity systems, or market-making technology, that is an important signal. Investor interest is no longer focused only on the best-known brands. Capital is also starting to flow into the picks-and-shovels layer of the sector, where infrastructure, tooling, and execution quality can decide who wins.