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This week: Raven courts investment from Coinbase Ventures, CMCC Global at $90M pre-money valuation

Also: Novig is reportedly seeking fresh funding at a $2B valuation, and BetOpenly founder gives us the scoop on his expansion into prediction markets.

October 01, 2026

Raven courts investment from Coinbase Ventures, CMCC Global at $90M pre-money valuation

The news: Raven, a trading firm that makes markets on prediction markets and crypto, raised a strategic round from Coinbase Ventures and CMCC Global at a $90M pre-money valuation. The amount wasn't disclosed. CMCC co-founder Charlie Morris has joined Raven's board and will work with the company on its institutional expansion.

Zoom in: Raven was founded in 2023 and began as a liquidity provider for crypto markets, then expanded into prediction markets in Q2 2025. It now provides liquidity to platforms including Kalshi and Polymarket and has quoted more than 3,000 contracts across sports, crypto, macroeconomics, and entertainment. "We are excited to support Raven's next phase of growth as they expand the business and continue to dominate liquidity on the venues that they serve," Morris said.

Why it matters: Raven's valuation has more than tripled since its $2.7M seed in 2024, which Hack VC led at $25M. The new money comes from the investment arm of Coinbase, which launched prediction markets in its own trading app last year. Headline valuations go to the exchanges, but traders stay where spreads are tight. That makes market makers like Raven a key part of the infrastructure, and investors are starting to price them that way.

Novig seeks fresh funding at $2B valuation, FOS reports

The news: Novig is raising a new round that's expected to value the sports prediction market at up to $2B, Front Office Sports reported yesterday, citing three sources familiar with the matter. Novig confirmed it’s fundraising to FOS. The round size and investors aren't known yet, and two sources say it could close before the end of the year.

Zoom in: Novig began receiving "tons" of interest after the CFTC approved it as a designated contract market in June, one source told FOS. A $2B mark would quadruple the $500M valuation from its $75M raise in February, and Novig has raised more than $105M to date.

Why it matters: Even at $2B, Novig would sit far below Kalshi, reportedly in talks at roughly $40B, and Polymarket, whose $1B round reportedly values it at about $21B. Co-founder Jacob Fortinsky is leaning on sports as the differentiator. At FOS's Asset Class event on Sept 15, he said Novig's "north star" has always been "to be the most hyperefficient, hyperliquid sports trading venue globally and to offer the most consumer friendly, high-integrity, and efficient experience for the everyday sports consumer."

BetOpenly founder raises funding, expands into prediction markets

The news: BetOpenly founder Gino Donati has raised outside funding to launch Open Markets, an institutional liquidity layer and universal execution platform for prediction markets. Donati will serve as president of the new company. It's building two products: an Expedia-style consumer wallet developed with EdgeBoost that shows bettors the best price across operators and trading venues from one balance, and a B2B service that brings institutions into prediction markets with credit lines and other services.

Zoom in: The idea grew out of BetOpenly's Instant Fill integrations, which surfaced problems a small operator couldn't legally solve: counterparty risk, liquidity gaps, and hedges that span multiple venues. Open Markets won't host trades itself. Instead it will route to exchanges including Kalshi, Polymarket, ProphetX, Novig, and BettorEdge. "We think being Switzerland gives us an advantage," Donati told BettingStartups. The funding goes toward product and licensing, including an FCM license he expects by year-end.

Why it matters: As prediction markets split into more and more venues, the value may move to whoever connects them. Donati calls data sales "the leader right now in the horse race" for revenue, and he plans to court founders with free data access, hackathons, and investments. The raise is also a turn for a founder who once built BetOpenly on reduced juice and turned down investors rather than accept their changes. "I already made the wrong decision once so I couldn't make it a second time," he said.

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  • 🆕 Stadium Vault is hiring its first Strategy & Ops Lead to work directly with the CEO across finance, inventory, risk, and expansion. Toronto, Canada. (View job)

  • Novig is looking for a Head of Customer Experience to build out a 24/7 support operation and own the AI and automation roadmap for the CFTC-designated sports prediction market. New York (hybrid/remote). (View job)

  • Stadium Live Studios is hiring a Creative Strategist Lead to own the creative production process end-to-end across paid ads and organic social for its Stadium Vault app. Toronto. (View job)

  • 🆕 BettingJobs is partnering with an ambitious sportsbook operator to appoint a Sportsbook Manager, a hands-on commercial and operational role at the heart of the product. Remote / LATAM. (View job)

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