Tarek Mansour is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Kalshi, an innovative financial technology company based in New York, United States. Under his leadership, Kalshi has grown into the first federally regulated event-based trading exchange in the U.S., giving everyday Americans a new way to trade on the outcomes of real-world events like economic indicators, political results, sports, and weather. His work has helped shape a practical, transparent market that informs people about future trends and offers useful tools for risk planning.
Background of Tarek Mansour
Tarek Mansour’s journey began in California, where he was born, and continued through his upbringing in Lebanon. From an early age, he showed a strong interest in analytical thinking and problem-solving. After completing secondary school in Lebanon, Mansour moved to the United States to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). There he earned degrees in computer science, mathematics, and engineering, building the foundation for both his technical and financial expertise.
Before Kalshi, Mansour worked in high-level financial roles, including as a quantitative trader at Goldman Sachs and as a macro trader at Citadel. In these roles, he saw how many trades were really bets on future events, but no simple regulated market existed for that purpose. This insight inspired him to build a new kind of exchange that would make it easier and more transparent to trade on the future itself.
About Kalshi
Kalshi was founded in 2018 by Tarek Mansour and his long-time collaborator Luana Lopes Lara, whom he met while studying at MIT. The company’s goal was to create a fully regulated platform where users could trade on outcomes of future events via “event contracts.” In 2020, Kalshi achieved a historic milestone by gaining regulatory approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) making it the first exchange in U.S. history specifically approved for event contract trading.
Since its official launch, the company has expanded into many areas that interest Americans. Users can trade contracts related to economic numbers like inflation and unemployment, cultural events, and even political outcomes. By turning predictions into transparent prices, Kalshi helps individuals, businesses, and investors better understand what the market believes about future possibilities.
Leadership Style and Company Impact
Tarek Mansour leads Kalshi with a focus on clarity, practical problem-solving, and regulatory compliance. He combines technical know-how with financial insight to guide Kalshi through complex legal and market challenges. Mansour’s leadership is described as thoughtful and strategic, with an emphasis on building tools that ordinary Americans can use to hedge risks and gain insight without needing advanced expertise.
Under his direction, Kalshi navigated regulatory processes that many thought were impossible, laying the groundwork for prediction markets in mainstream financial services. This has brought new tools into the U.S. economy that help firms and individuals manage uncertainty in areas like policy, economics, and public events.
Co-Founder Luana Lopes Lara
Kalshi’s success is the result of a strong partnership between Tarek Mansour and Luana Lopes Lara. Lopes Lara, now a widely recognized entrepreneur, brings her own technical and market expertise to the company, having also studied at MIT and worked in the financial sector before launching Kalshi. Together, they fought for federal approval, pitched investors, and developed a product that has made an impact on how Americans think about future outcomes.
Their combined leadership helped Kalshi secure major funding, including a $1 billion round in 2025 that valued the company at around $11 billion and attracted top-tier investors such as CapitalG, Sequoia Capital, and Andreessen Horowitz.
Achievements and Role in U.S. Growth
Kalshi’s growth reflects its practical value to users and to the broader financial landscape. By offering regulated markets for event contracts, the company provides tools that help people plan and protect themselves against future uncertainty. Regulators, businesses, and everyday traders benefit from a transparent system that prices collective expectations about future events, something that previously existed only in limited or informal forms.
The platform’s reach extends across key areas affecting Americans’ lives, including economic policy outcomes, major elections, and sports. Kalshi’s user base and trading volumes have grown significantly as more Americans use the platform to express views, manage risk, and access data-driven insights.
Personal Approach and Future Plans
Mansour’s personal approach is grounded in long-term thinking and careful execution. Rather than chase short-term trends, he has focused on building a robust, compliant platform that delivers value while protecting users through regulation. His emphasis on transparency and responsible growth shows in Kalshi’s decision to pursue federal approval and embrace comprehensive oversight.
Looking ahead, both Mansour and Kalshi aim to expand what event trading can do. With strong funding and innovative technology, the company plans to broaden its contracts, reach more participants, and help Americans better understand and prepare for whatever comes next. Mansour’s vision remains rooted in empowering users with financial tools that clarify uncertainty and improve decision-making.
