Luana Lopes Lara Becomes Youngest Self-Made Female Billionaire at 29
The Brazilian-born MIT graduate’s startup Kalshi hits USD 11 billion valuation after major funding round.
Luana Lopes Lara, a Brazilian-born technologist and entrepreneur, has become the world’s youngest self-made female billionaire at just 29. Lara is the co-founder of Kalshi, a regulated prediction market platform that recently secured a valuation of USD 11 billion following a USD 1 billion funding round.
Born in Brazil, Lara trained as a ballerina before shifting her focus to technology. She later pursued degrees in computer science and mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where she developed strong foundations in quantitative analysis and software engineering — skills that later became pivotal in her finance and technology career.
Lara co-founded Kalshi in 2020 with Tarek Mansour, whom she met at MIT. The idea emerged during their internships at high-frequency trading firm Five Rings Capital. Kalshi allows users to trade on future real-world events — including elections, weather patterns, sports outcomes and economic shifts — functioning similarly to futures trading but without traditional underlying assets.
The platform’s recent USD 1 billion funding round — led by Paradigm with participation from Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, and Y Combinator — boosted Lara’s estimated net worth to USD 1.3 billion. According to industry reports, Lara holds approximately a 12 percent stake in the company.
Kalshi’s rapid rise has also been reinforced by regulatory approval. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) previously cleared the platform to operate as a designated contract market, distinguishing it from unregulated competitors like Polymarket.
The platform has forged strategic partnerships with Robinhood, Webull and hedge fund Susquehanna International Group to enhance liquidity. It has also expanded into collaborations with the NHL, StockX and Solana, accelerating mainstream adoption and market engagement.
Analysts say Kalshi is reshaping aspects of both derivatives trading and consumer forecasting by enabling businesses and individuals to hedge risks based on event outcomes. Supporters believe the platform could transform sectors such as climate finance, entertainment, insurance modelling and political forecasting.
A recent Instagram post celebrating her milestone has further amplified public interest in Lara’s journey from ballet to billion-dollar tech leadership.
This story is written by Akanksha Sudham, intern at Deccan Chronicle.