# Luana Lopes Lara

> Luana Lopes Lara is the Brazilian cofounder and chief operating officer of Kalshi, the CFTC-regulated exchange she started with MIT classmate Tarek Mansour in 2018. A former professional ballerina and MIT-trained computer scientist and mathematician, she helped turn a Wall Street observation - that investors constantly trade around future events without being able to trade those events directly - into a new market for yes-or-no event contracts. Her insistence on pursuing federal regulation, and later challenging the CFTC in court over election contracts, has made her a central figure in the rise and continuing debate over prediction markets.

- **Role:** Cofounder and Chief Operating Officer at Kalshi
- **Organizations:** Kalshi, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Bridgewater Associates, Citadel Securities, Five Rings Capital, Salzburger Landestheater
- **From:** Belo Horizonte, Brazil
- **Nationality:** Brazilian
- **Education:** Bachelor's in Computer Science and Mathematics; Master of Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Professional ballet training, Bolshoi Theatre School in Brazil
- **Known for:** Cofounded the first federally regulated U.S. exchange dedicated to event contracts., Helped secure Kalshi's designation as a contract market from the CFTC in 2020., Helped lead the successful federal court challenge that allowed Kalshi to list election contracts in 2024.

## Career timeline

- **2013-2014** — Performed professionally with Salzburger Landestheater in Austria, including a season of Swan Lake, before starting university.
- **2014** — Began studying at MIT, where she met future cofounder Tarek Mansour during international-student orientation.
- **2014-2018** — Studied computer science and mathematics, completed a Master of Engineering, and worked in MIT cognitive-science and computer-science research labs.
- **2018** — Worked alongside Mansour at Five Rings Capital; their walks home in Manhattan helped turn an observation about event risk into the idea for Kalshi.
- **2018** — Cofounded Kalshi with Mansour.
- **2019** — Joined Y Combinator's Winter batch and developed an early beta of the exchange.
- **2020** — Kalshi received CFTC approval as a designated contract market after roughly two and a half years of regulatory work.
- **2023** — After the CFTC rejected election contracts, Kalshi filed suit against its regulator; Lara has been credited with pressing for the legal challenge.
- **2024** — A federal district court ruled for Kalshi, clearing the way for the first legal U.S. election contracts in more than a century.
- **2025** — Kalshi raised a $1 billion Series E at an $11 billion valuation; Forbes estimated Lara's stake at 12% and named her the youngest self-made woman billionaire.
- **2026** — Kalshi raised a $1 billion Series F led by Coatue at a $22 billion valuation and increased its focus on institutional adoption.

## Achievements

- Cofounded the first federally regulated U.S. exchange dedicated to event contracts.
- Helped secure Kalshi's designation as a contract market from the CFTC in 2020.
- Helped lead the successful federal court challenge that allowed Kalshi to list election contracts in 2024.
- Named to Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2022.
- Won gold in the Brazilian Astronomy Olympiad and bronze in the Santa Catarina Mathematics Olympiad during her youth.
- Became, by Forbes' estimate, the world's youngest self-made woman billionaire after Kalshi's 2025 financing.
- Helped grow Kalshi to a reported $22 billion valuation after its 2026 Series F.

## Latest updates

- **2026-09** — Forbes' real-time profile estimated Lara's net worth at $2.6 billion, based largely on an estimated 12% Kalshi stake.
- **2026-06** — At Web Summit Rio, Lara discussed how Brazilian optimism and AI influence Kalshi's operating culture and product development.
- **2026-05** — Kalshi announced a $1 billion Series F led by Coatue at a $22 billion valuation, with funding aimed at expanding institutional products and integrations.
- **2026-04** — Lara and Mansour appeared on The Axios Show and discussed regulation, insider-trading controls, and the social value they attribute to prediction markets.
- **2026-03** — On Cheeky Pint, the cofounders described Kalshi's 11-fold revenue growth in six months and revisited the decision to sue the CFTC.

## Links

- Website: https://kalshi.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/luana-lopes-lara-3151068a
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/luanalopeslara
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsNmBcDCsq0
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/luana_lopes_lara/

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/luana-lara
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-27