Kalshi appoints former Uber executive as first Chief Financial Officer

Charlotte Capewell

5 November 2025 at 7:18am UTC-5

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US prediction market Kalshi has named former Uber Finance Executive Saurabh Tejwani as its first Chief Financial Officer.

Tejwani was at Uber between 2015 and 2019 in a succession of corporate development roles. In 2019, he helped manage the taxi company’s initial public offering and raised funds for the platform.

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Latterly, he has worked as Vice President of Commercial Development at hospitality platform OYO, Vice President of Finance and Corporate Development at healthcare platform All.Health and has been at commerce platform Gopuff for the last four years as Senior Vice President of Finance.

Given Kalshi’s expansion across the US, Tejawani said his job would be similar to his position at Uber. Regarding plans for a potential initial public offering by Kalshi, Tejwani told The Information it is “something we will consider.”

He told the publication his appointment at Kalshi was not specific to his experience in taking companies public but instead to his previous experience in “dealmaking and international expansion and being a strategic CFO.”

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Kalshi raised more than US$300 million in October, and its valuation increased to US$5 billion, up from US$3 billion in June of this year.

However, prediction market Polymarket is expected to return to the US market after receiving regulatory approval, which could impact Kalshi’s market position.

Kalshi’s job adverts have recently received backlash after a post repeatedly mentioned “sportsbooks,” despite the company’s repeated claims of not being associated with the gambling industry. The post has since been revised.

Charlotte Capewell brings her passion for storytelling and expertise in writing, researching, and the gambling industry to every article she writes. Her specialties include the US gambling industry, regulator legislation, igaming, and more.

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The Backstory

Why Kalshi is putting a financier in the driver’s seat

Kalshi’s choice to name a first chief financial officer signals a new phase for the regulated prediction market: scaling under scrutiny. The company has raised more than $300 million since October and lifted its valuation to $5 billion, up from $3 billion in June, according to prior disclosures. That trajectory raises the stakes for capital allocation, risk controls and potential capital markets moves — including an initial public offering that its new finance chief has said the company would consider. The timing reflects both opportunity and pressure as Kalshi pushes deeper into mainstream use cases and navigates a shifting regulatory map.

The hire comes amid an evolving legal backdrop and a heavier product mix. Kalshi is broadening event contracts into topical and time-sensitive markets, including sports, while fending off accusations that its offerings resemble gambling. That positioning has forced the company to tighten its message to regulators, investors and partners while building the infrastructure and compliance muscle typical of exchanges. A seasoned CFO with dealmaking and expansion experience is meant to knit those demands into a credible path toward sustained growth.

The move also follows a burst of public attention — supportive and critical — after Kalshi began testing the boundaries of what a CFTC-regulated event contract venue can list. The company has argued it is a financial exchange with events as the underlying and has leaned into that framing as it expands across the United States. A stronger finance function can backstop that case with data, controls and investor discipline.

A court win reshaped the regulatory calculus

Kalshi’s operating environment changed materially when the Commodity Futures Trading Commission dropped its appeal after a federal judge ruled the platform could list election contracts. The regulator’s decision to walk away from the case effectively solidified the company’s right to offer political event markets, a turning point that removed a near-term existential overhang even as it invited fresh political scrutiny. The CFTC’s withdrawal was explained as a voluntary dismissal, with commissioners voting on the move.

Kalshi cast the outcome as validation of its approach and a watershed for prediction markets in America. Still, the reaction underscored the political sensitivity of the product. Financial reform advocates criticized the decision, warning that trading on election outcomes could encourage gambling on core democratic processes. That split response suggests Kalshi’s license to operate remains subject to ongoing political risk management, which heightens the importance of disciplined financial planning, conservative treasury practices and proactive stakeholder engagement. For a company balancing growth and oversight, a capable CFO helps translate legal clearance into measured expansion rather than overreach.

Inside that context, the legal victory detailed in the CFTC’s dropped appeal narrowed one major uncertainty but did not erase others. State-level interpretations, product-specific reviews and broader market conduct standards will continue to shape which contracts can list, how risk is managed and how quickly Kalshi can scale new categories.

Sports listings opened doors — and sparked pushback

Kalshi’s move to offer sports-related event contracts around the Super Bowl and March Madness widened its addressable market but triggered responses from several states. Illinois, Ohio, Maryland and Nevada issued cease-and-desist letters over the new options, arguing the products encroached on sports wagering without the requisite approvals. The episode illustrated how the company’s federal regulatory status does not automatically preempt state-level oversight, particularly where offerings resemble consumer-facing betting.

The company has since bolstered its public affairs and corporate development bench. Former American Gaming Association executive Sara Slane joined as head of corporate development, bringing deep experience in regulatory advocacy from her work on the Supreme Court fight that ended the federal sports-betting ban. Her addition, outlined in Kalshi’s corporate development hire, complements the new finance leadership by pairing policy navigation with capital strategy. The objective is clear: grow prediction markets into a mainstream financial product set without being boxed into the gambling category.

Kalshi’s chief executive has publicly framed the platform as a financial exchange that will follow CFTC directives above all. That stance aims to keep the company squarely within its federal license while it engages state authorities to ease friction. A CFO versed in international expansion and structured finance can help phase rollouts, stage capital needs and tailor economics to jurisdictions with differing regulatory appetites.

Competitive heat and the cost of scale

Even with favorable court developments, Kalshi faces intensifying competition. Rival Polymarket is expected to return to the U.S. after securing regulatory approval, a move that could compress fees, increase customer acquisition costs and force faster product iteration. That dynamic, coupled with content moderation and surveillance obligations, makes margin management central to Kalshi’s strategy. The firm’s recent hiring misstep — job ads that referenced sportsbooks — shows how branding miscues can distract regulators and partners. A tighter finance-led operating cadence can reduce those unforced errors.

The company’s multihundred-million-dollar war chest provides runway, but burn rates can rise quickly as venues add categories, liquidity programs and compliance headcount. A CFO with IPO and fundraising experience can flex between private capital and potential public markets, hedging against shifts in investor sentiment. If Kalshi pursues an eventual listing, the groundwork will include audit readiness, revenue quality, unit economics and a narrative that differentiates financial hedging from betting.

Signal from across the gaming and betting ecosystem

Kalshi’s finance pivot mirrors a broader reshuffle of financial leadership across the gaming, betting and content supply chain, where regulation and scale are refocusing boards on operational discipline. In recent months, Games Global’s longtime CFO resigned after steering the company through acquisitions and a capital-backed buildout. Content studio RubyPlay appointed a new CFO to support international expansion following its entry into the U.S. market. And operator Rush Street Interactive elevated its CFO to president while keeping him in the finance seat, underscoring how financial leaders are now central to day-to-day execution.

The common thread is scale under regulation. Whether listing event contracts, distributing casino content or operating real-money platforms, companies are tasking finance chiefs with tighter control over growth levers, regulatory interfaces and cross-functional performance. For Kalshi, whose product sits at the crossroads of markets and gambling law, that alignment is not optional. It is a prerequisite to win liquidity, satisfy supervisors and maintain investor confidence.

What to watch next

Kalshi’s next tests will come on three fronts. First, the product roadmap: how quickly the company expands beyond marquee political and sports events into everyday economic, weather or entertainment contracts without triggering new controversies. Second, regulatory engagement: whether the firm can convert the CFTC court outcome into cooperative state relationships that limit cease-and-desist episodes and clarify consumer protections. Third, capital and competition: how the company funds liquidity and customer acquisition as rivals scale, and whether an IPO window opens that rewards growth with balanced risk.

The CFO hire is designed to stitch those threads together. If execution matches intent, the company can turn a volatile operating climate into a moat built on compliance, predictable unit economics and measured innovation. If not, legal skirmishes and rising costs could flatten momentum. Investors, rivals and regulators will be watching how the finance function shapes Kalshi’s next phase.