About
Tarek Mansour co-founded Kalshi in 2018 and spent seven years turning event contracts from a regulatory impossibility into a $22 billion company — raising $1 billion led by Coatue in May 2026, double the mark set five months earlier. Born in California and raised in Lebanon, he studied mathematics and computer science at MIT, interned at Goldman Sachs and traded at Citadel Securities, then founded Kalshi with MIT classmate Luana Lopes Lara. Kalshi won a CFTC exchange licence, beat the regulator in court to list election contracts through the 2024 election, and in April 2026 won the first federal appellate ruling that commodities law preempts state gambling law for sports event contracts.
Beyond investing
- Founded
- Co-founded Kalshi in 2018 with Luana Lopes Lara, whom he met at MIT; each owns roughly 12%. Mansour founded the prediction market Kalshi in 2018 with Luana Lopes Lara, whom he met as a student at MIT.
- Education
- Studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (BS, mathematics and computer science, 2018) Studied at Collège Louise Wegmann
- Awards
- Named a self-made billionaire by Forbes in December 2025, with his stake roughly doubling to $2.6B by May 2026.
- Family
- Born in California in 1996 and raised in Lebanon, where he attended Collège Louise Wegman before returning to the US in 2014. Mansour is Catholic, with a Catholic father and an Orthodox mother.
- More
- Kalshi sued the CFTC over election contracts and won at district court in September 2024; the D.C. Circuit denied the regulator's stay, letting congressional-control contracts trade through the election. In April 2026 the Third Circuit affirmed Kalshi's injunction against New Jersey — the first federal appellate holding that the Commodity Exchange Act preempts state gambling law for sports event contracts. Says most business advice is 'trash' and that founders should take risks instead; has ruled out an IPO before 2027.
Mentioned above: the Massachusetts Institute of Technology mafia →
From Tarek's own website — common ground for a warm intro.
Co-founder & CEO at KalshiYC W19
Intro paths
YC
Tarek went through Y Combinator (Winter 2019) — any YC alum in your network can reach them through the YC community.
→
In turn, Tarek can intro founders to Kalshi's investors below.
Kalshi's investors · 31
a16z cryptoMenlo ParkAndreessen HorowitzMenlo Park · $500K – $50M checksCapitalGSan Francisco · $50M – $100M checksCoatue ManagementNew York · $1M – $20M checksConductive VenturesMountain ViewDeviation CapitalNew YorkEverybody Ventures$100K checksFormus CapitalHuman CapitalSan Francisco · $250K – $200M checksIntegra GroupeMenlo Park · $100K – $200K checksInterplay Ventures Early Stage Management LlcNew York · $1M checksIVP (Institutional Venture Partners)San Francisco · $15M – $75M checksJ17 CapitalJam FundLos Angeles · $500K – $20M checksManhattan WestLos AngelesMantis CapitalSanta Monica · $100K – $1M checksMech VenturesLas VegasMeritech Capital PartnersPalo Alto · $5M – $40M checksMulticoin CapitalAustin · $1M – $50M checksNexus BayTelegraph BayNight CapitalCapitolaParadigmSan Francisco · $1M – $100M checks · since 2025Pathlight VenturesOld Bridge · $500K – $5M checksRazor CapitalSequoia CapitalMenlo Park · $4.4M – $214M checks · since 2025SGH CapitalParisSoma CapitalSacramento · $100K – $300K checksSpark CapitalSan Francisco · $500K – $25M checksSV AngelSan FranciscoWealthUnion$10K checksY CombinatorSan Francisco · $500K checks · since 2019
Co-founders at Kalshi
LL
Luana Lopes LaraFounder
Experience
- KalshiCo-founder and CEOcurrent2019 — presentNew York, United States
- CitadelMacro Trader2018 — 2019New York City Metropolitan Area
- MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL)Artificial Intelligence Researcher2018Cambridge, MA
- Palantir TechnologiesForward Deployed Engineer2017 — 2018New York City Metropolitan Area
- Goldman SachsEquity Derivatives Analyst2016New York City Metropolitan Area
Education
- Y Combinator2019
- Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyB.Sc, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science2014 — 2018
- College Louise Wegmann2001 — 2014
Skills & more
Matlab54Python48HTML38CSS9AutoCAD11C++14Programming19Software Development11Data Analysis22Market Analysis5Company Valuation5Equity Research4
+9 more
Investment BankingJavaReact.jsx86 AssemblyCJavaScriptMachine LearningReinforcement LearningRLanguages Arabic · French
From Tarek's professional profile.
Podcasts & interviews
featuring Tarek MansourFrequently asked questions
- Where does Tarek Mansour work?
- Tarek Mansour is Co-founder & CEO at Kalshi.
- What companies did Tarek Mansour found?
- Tarek Mansour founded Kalshi.
Paths to reach Tarek
People who overlapped with Tarek at the same organization — a shared school or employer with one of them is a warm way in.
Together at KalshiTarek: Co-founder & CEO
Alfred Lin2020–2026Partner at Sequoia CapitalHarvard University · Stuyvesant High SchoolYasmin Razavi2025–2026Investor at Spark CapitalUniversity of TorontoEric Liaw2025–2026Investor at IVP (Institutional Venture Partners)Alex Kurland2025–2026Partner at Meritech Capital PartnersUniversity of Southern CaliforniaBill Baumel2026Managing Director at Ohio Innovation FundHarvard Business School Online · The Ohio State University · University of Michigan - Stephen M. Ross School of BusinessMike Vernal2021–2022Partner at ConvictionUniversity of California, Berkeley
Together at Goldman SachsTarek: Equity Derivatives Analyst
Josh Kushner2016Founder & CEO of Thrive CapitalUniversity of DenverDavid Clark Guillermo2016Investments at Impact America FundNorthwestern University - Kellogg School of Management · Providence Academy - Plymouth, MN · UCLA Anderson School of ManagementSam Endacott2016Partner at NorthzoneSt Paul's School · The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)Demi Obayomi2016Principal at Sapphire VenturesLoyola Jesuit College · Pearson College UWC · SEO (Sponsors for Educational Opportunity)Morgan Cheatham2016Partner and Head of Healthcare and Life Sciences at Breyer CapitalBrown University · Harvard Medical School · The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown UniversityTeemu Mattila2016Partner at Lifeline VenturesAalto University · Auckland University of Technology · USC Marshall School of Business
Founder mafias
Y Combinator mafia8,756
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Sam AltmanPresidentFounded Tools for Humanity +3Jessica LivingstonCo-founderFounded Y CombinatorAlexis OhanianYC Summer 2005Founded RedditFred EhrsamYC Summer 2012Founded CoinbaseMatt HuangYC Winter 2011Founded HotspotsTrae StephensYC Winter 2022Founded Pursuit +1
+ 8,749 more
Y Combinator mafia4,711
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Ryan SheaEntrepreneurshipFounded StacksDarius "Bubs" MonsefS19Founded Sightbox +3Matthew ScholzFounded Oisin Biotechnologies +3Oleg RogynskyyEntrepreneurship/Entrepreneurial StudiesFounded UFORCE Acquired +2Magnus HambletonFounded Founders Pledge +2IanFounded Immunity Project +2
+ 4,704 more
Massachusetts Institute of Technology mafia540
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Elad GilPhDFounded Brain Co.Nat FriedmanBachelor of ScienceFounded XamarinMatt HuangB.S.Founded HotspotsDelian AsparouhovDropoutFounded Nightingale +1Drew HoustonBSFounded Dropbox +1Arash FerdowsiComputer ScienceFounded Dropbox
+ 533 more
Goldman Sachs mafia246
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Fred EhrsamTraderFounded CoinbaseMatt HuangSummer AnalystFounded HotspotsDavid VélezAnalystFounded NubankDavid WhelanM&AFounded Strive Health +3Spencer RascoffInvestment BankerFounded HeyLibby +2Gordon WintrobSummer Analyst, Investment BankingFounded Newfrontinsurance +2
+ 239 more
Same school
Also attended Y Combinator2,000
Ryan SheaCo-founder of Blockstack (Stacks)Suhail DoshiFounder of Mixpanel; founder of ParticleAkshat GoenkaInvestor at Moonfire VenturesJon XuGeneral Partner at Y CombinatorTed ChaiAssociate at Scale Venture PartnersLeo LuInvestor at Foundation Capital
+ 1,994 more
Also attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology1,288
Fred WilsonCo-founder & Partner at Union Square VenturesElad GilSolo general partner investing through Gil CapitalAileen LeeFounder & Managing Partner of Cowboy VenturesHemant TanejaCEO & Managing Director of General CatalystNat FriedmanCo-lead of Meta Superintelligence Labs; co-founder of NFDGBrad FeldCo-founder of Foundry and Techstars
+ 1,282 more
Also attended College Louise Wegmann2
Shared employers
Also worked at Kalshi13
Alfred LinPartner at Sequoia CapitalYasmin RazaviInvestor at Spark CapitalEric LiawInvestor at IVP (Institutional Venture Partners)Alex KurlandPartner at Meritech Capital PartnersBill BaumelManaging Director at Ohio Innovation FundMike VernalPartner at Conviction
+ 7 more
Also worked at Citadel68
Robert CulpPrincipal at Marlin Equity PartnersDavid SnydermanManaging Partner and Global Head of Alternative Credit and Fixed Income at Magnetar AI VenturesFran AmicoExecutive Assistant at CAVU Consumer PartnersEvan FengPartner at CoinFundJohn GuCo-Founder and CEO at CaladanEvan AxelrodSenior Associate at Maccabee Ventures
+ 62 more
Also worked at MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL)63
Ivory TangInvestor at ChemistryGleb ChuvpiloManaging Partner at Thundermark CapitalPuneeth MeruvaPartner at Trucks VCMillie Liu LiuFounding Partner at First Star VenturesAnnan ZhangInvestor at E14 FundMichael WangInvestor at E14 Fund
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+ 57 more
Also worked at Palantir Technologies204
Garry TanPresident & CEO of Y CombinatorJoe LonsdaleFounder & Managing Partner of 8VCTrae StephensPartner at Founders Fund and co-founder of AndurilViviana FagaGeneral Partner at Felicis VenturesBryan OffuttInvestor at Index VenturesErin Price-WrightInvestor at Index Ventures
+ 198 more