1789 Capital is preparing to put about $300 million more into Polymarket, people familiar with the matter said, a commitment that would take the prediction-market platform’s latest funding round to roughly $1 billion and value the company at about $21 billion. The proposed valuation would represent a 40% increase from the level discussed only months earlier, underscoring the speed with which regulated event-contract platforms have moved into the center of financial and political attention.
The planned investment would deepen 1789 Capital’s relationship with Polymarket, where Donald Trump Jr., a partner at the Palm Beach investment firm, has served on the advisory board since August 2025. Polymarket announced at that time that it had received a strategic investment from 1789 Capital, while people familiar with the transaction described the initial amount as being in the tens of millions of dollars.
A $300 million follow-on check would be unusually large for a platform whose business remains exposed to legal disputes over whether contracts tied to elections, sports and other events should be treated as federally regulated derivatives or as gambling products governed by state law.
Polymarket’s funding arrives amid legal and political pressure
Polymarket’s proposed $21 billion valuation comes after a period in which the company has sought to rebuild its U.S. position following earlier regulatory action. In January 2022, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ordered Blockratize Inc., Polymarket’s operator, to pay a $1.4 million civil monetary penalty for operating an unregistered facility for event-based binary options. The settlement also required the company to wind down markets that did not comply with the Commodity Exchange Act and block U.S.-based users.
The platform’s subsequent path has been shaped by the federal debate over event contracts, which allow users to buy positions tied to the outcome of a defined event. A contract can trade close to $1 when the market sees an outcome as highly likely and near zero when it sees the opposite result. Critics argue that some products, particularly sports-related contracts, resemble sports betting. Supporters contend that federally regulated contracts provide a different product with hedging and price-discovery uses.
That distinction has produced a patchwork of disputes. State regulators have challenged event-contract offerings connected to sports, while federal courts and agencies have examined the extent of the CFTC’s authority. More than 20 states have been involved in legal conflicts over sports-event contracts, according to the material provided.
Polymarket also faces congressional attention. Representative Jamie Raskin opened a formal inquiry on Aug. 27 concerning three 1789 Capital portfolio companies and their receipt of federal support, requesting responses by Sept. 9, according to the material provided. The inquiry adds scrutiny to the overlap among politically connected capital, federal policy and companies operating in tightly regulated sectors.
Among the companies identified was Vulcan Elements, a rare-earth business that received a reported $620 million federal loan about three months after taking capital from 1789 Capital. The available information does not establish that 1789’s investment caused the loan award, but the timing places the firm’s portfolio under closer examination as its assets and influence expand.
Trump Jr.’s role connects Polymarket to 1789’s expansion
Trump Jr. joined 1789 Capital as a partner less than a week after the November 2024 election. The firm’s website says his responsibilities include sourcing investments, fundraising and strategy. His simultaneous appointment to Polymarket’s advisory board made the platform one of the clearest public links between the fund’s political network and its technology portfolio.
1789 Capital was founded in October 2022 by Omeed Malik, Chris Buskirk and Rebekah Mercer. The firm is based in Palm Beach, Florida, and has grown far beyond its original fundraising ambitions. Early targets were about $100 million, and public reports placed its assets near that level at the end of 2023. By the period around Trump Jr.’s arrival, the fund was reported to have raised roughly $150 million to $200 million.
Paul Abrahimzadeh, a partner at 1789 Capital, said in May 2026 that the firm had reached about $3.5 billion in assets under management. People familiar with the fund cited returns of about 200% for its main vehicle through June 30, 2026. Those figures were not independently detailed in the supplied material, but they help explain how a young firm could contemplate a $300 million commitment to a single company.
PitchBook data cited in reporting showed that 1789 had made more than 40 investments, up from an initial portfolio of five holdings. Its strategy has concentrated on later-stage growth companies in areas that sit close to government procurement, strategic industrial policy and the artificial-intelligence buildout.
A portfolio built around strategic technologies
1789’s reported holdings include defense, aerospace, advanced computing and enterprise software companies. CNN counted more than 10 investments across defense contractors, space companies and foundational software businesses as of July 2026.
The fund’s artificial-intelligence positions have included Cerebras, Groq, Reflection AI, PsiQuantum, Perplexity, Replit, Skild AI, Databricks, Ramp, Deel and Plaid, according to reporting cited in the supplied material. It has also been linked to investments in SpaceX, xAI, X and Neuralink.
Cerebras illustrates the potential payoff from the strategy. 1789 reportedly entered the AI-chip company at an approximately $8 billion valuation and added to its position at about $23 billion. Cerebras listed on Nasdaq in May 2026, providing a public-market benchmark for a portfolio built largely around private companies.
Polymarket would stand apart from many of those holdings because its growth depends less on government procurement or computing demand than on regulatory boundaries. A larger 1789 stake would give the platform additional capital as it navigates those boundaries, while placing one of the fund’s highest-profile political connections closer to a business facing unresolved questions from state regulators, Congress and federal commodities authorities.
Curious about real-money event predictions like Polymarket? Learn how they work in crypto with our guide on event contracts.
Disclaimer: The content on this page is provided for general informational purposes only and does not represent the views or financial advice of Toobit. We make no guarantees regarding the accuracy or completeness of this information and shall not be held liable for any errors, omissions, or outcomes resulting from its use. Investing in digital assets involves risk; users should independently evaluate their financial situation and the risks involved. For further details, please consult our Terms of Service and Risk Disclosure.
