Polymarket to let users make prediction market bets on private companies

Polymarket launched a new set of prediction markets on Tuesday that allows users to trade on private company performance for the first time.

The New York-based company said it is teaming up with Nasdaq Private Market, a secondary trading venue that provides data on non-public companies, to offer the new service. Customers will be able to buy and sell contracts based on private companies' valuation milestones, initial public offering plans and secondary market activity, according to Polymarket. 

Select private company markets are available on the platform beginning on Tuesday, with additional ones rolling out on an ongoing basis.

Prediction markets allow users to bet on the outcomes of future events by placing wagers on "yes" or "no" questions called event contracts. Polymarket enables speculation on sports, politics, culture and other categories.

Rival prediction market Kalshi also hosts contracts on when companies such as SpaceX and OpenAI will announce IPOs.

Polymarket described its new offering as a way for individuals to gain exposure to a business mostly limited to institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals. By trading on private company markets, users could capitalize on a company's value before it goes public, for example, according to Polymarket. 

"For the first time, anyone can engage with the outcomes driving value at the world's most consequential private companies," Shayne Coplan, founder and CEO of Polymarket, said in a statement.

The trades will also provide a "real-time signal" for investors to gauge private-market performance, added Rodolfo Sanchez, vice president of data at Nasdaq Private Market.