1789 Trump Jr. Capital Leads New $1 Billion Funding Round for Polymarket
Top line
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 increased pressure from states to regulate betting on these platforms.
Donald Trump Jr.’s 1798 Capital Leads $1 Billion Funding Round in Polymarket.
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Key facts
According Bloombergwhich first reported the investment, citing anonymous 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 is a partner, made a “strategic investment”at Polymarket last year.
At the time, the company did not disclose terms of the investment, but announced that Trump Jr. had joined its advisory board.
In March, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, Intercontinental Exchange, invested an additional $600 million in Polymarket, bringing its total investment in the company to 1.6 billion dollars.
Polymarket’s main rival Kalshi moved up a notch billion dollars in April with a similar valuation of $22 billion in a funding round involving Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Morgan Stanley and others.
What do we know about the earlier 1789 investment at Polymarket?
Citing people familiar with the investments, the The Wall Street Journal reported that 1789 Capital’s latest cash injection makes it one of Polymarket’s largest investors, following a previous $200 million investment in the platform. in a Press release In announcing the investment last year, 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. praised Polymarket as the “world’s largest prediction market” and said the United States “needs access to this important platform.” The president’s son said the betting market figures help people overcome “media misrepresentations and the opinions of so-called ‘experts’ by allowing people to bet on what they really 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 ad attacked what it claimed was a “fractured and often skewed media landscape” and said Trump Jr. would bring a new 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 false.” According to the Financial timesTrump Jr. received a $300,000 stake in Kalshi when he joined as an adviser in January 2025. The value of his stake has likely multiplied as Kalshi has raised financing at much higher valuations since then.
What to take into account
Earlier this month, The Information reported that Kalshi surpassed $4 billion in annualized revenue and is planning another round of fundraising at a valuation of $40 billion. Kalshi’s target is almost double Polymarket’s last reported fundraising, marking a major change in the fortunes of the two companies over the past year. In October last year, after Intercontinental Exchange invested $1 billion in Polymarket, the cryptocurrency-based platform was valued at $9 billionwhile Kalshi’s valuation stood at $5 billion.
Additional reading
Polymarket Financing Led by Securities Firm 1789 at $21 Billion (Bloomberg)
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