Kalshi CEO: Competition with Polymarket is like a showdown between sports stars; competition drives industry development.

According to Mars Finance, on December 9th, Tarek Mansour, CEO of prediction market platform Kalshi, stated on a podcast that competition with rival Polymarket has spurred both companies to work harder. Mansour likened the competition between the two companies to a rivalry between NFL quarterbacks Tom Brady and Eli Manning, or between soccer stars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. He stated, "Without Polymarket, we wouldn't be pushing marketing and product development so hard. This competition will drive us to expand the industry to heights that were previously unattainable, which is beneficial to our customers in the long run." Kalshi, founded in 2018, announced partnerships with CNN and CNBC last week and completed a $1 billion funding round at a $11 billion valuation. Its competitor, Polymarket, founded in 2020, reached a valuation of $13.5 billion in November.