ParlayX has raised $1.25 million in pre-seed capital to build a non-custodial infrastructure for institutional prediction market trading, connecting multiple venues and onboarding its first market makers
Institutional access to prediction markets is getting a structural overhaul as ParlayX closes a $1.25 million pre-seed round, targeting the core infrastructure gap that has kept professional trading desks on the sidelines. The company’s platform is already live with four connected venues and a cohort of algorithmic market makers, signaling a shift away from the retail-only focus that has defined the sector’s early years.
Infrastructure for Professional Trading
ParlayX is positioning itself as the backbone for institutional event contract trading, offering a non-custodial, fund-grade system that departs from the single-user, single-account model. The platform’s order and execution management system (OEMS) is designed for trading desks, market makers, and quantitative funds, not individual bettors. With unified portfolio visibility, granular permissioning, and capital control tools, ParlayX enables multiple participants within an organization to coordinate positions across accounts—an operational structure that mirrors established practices in traditional financial markets.
To date, ParlayX has integrated with Kalshi, Polymarket, Limitless, and ProphetX, with plans to add Novig and Polymarket US as the NFL season approaches. The company has already onboarded its first 10 market makers, who are running algorithmic strategies via ParlayX’s API and SDK. A waitlist of additional quantitative desks and hedge funds is in progress, reflecting growing institutional interest in event contract trading as a distinct asset class.
Funding Details and Market Context
The $1.25 million pre-seed round, led by Copenhagen-based Dreamcraft Ventures, places ParlayX in the top third of sector raises at this stage. Angel investors include Pet Berisha of Sporting Crypto, Jeffrey Haas of ID8, Jack Corddry (formerly of Frax Finance), and Devin Ardalan, president of US operations at EVG. The new capital is earmarked for further venue integrations, upgrades to proprietary smart order routing algorithms, and scaling global go-to-market operations.
Dreamcraft Ventures general partner Nikolaj Nyholm described prediction markets as a rapidly maturing multi-billion-dollar asset class, but noted that infrastructure remains fragmented and largely retail-focused. ParlayX’s approach is to bridge that gap, providing the operational tools and connectivity that institutional players require to deploy capital at scale. This move comes as regulators and market participants continue to debate the boundaries between event contracts and traditional gambling, a topic explored in recent coverage of Canadian regulatory actions.
Operational Impact and Industry Positioning
By connecting multiple venues and standardizing access for professional market makers, ParlayX is attempting to solve the fragmentation that has limited liquidity and efficiency in prediction markets. The platform’s non-custodial design means that institutional clients retain control over their funds, addressing a key compliance and risk concern. The unified OEMS and cross-venue order routing are intended to enable more sophisticated trading strategies, potentially increasing market depth and tightening spreads across connected platforms.
CEO and co-founder Andrew Gonzalez is set to raise the company’s profile at the Global Prediction Markets Forum in Lisbon and at several New York events later this year. The company’s early traction with market makers and its focus on institutional-grade infrastructure suggest that ParlayX is betting on a future where event contract trading is no longer a retail niche but a mainstream financial product for professional capital.
Prediction markets, also known as event contract platforms, allow participants to trade on the outcome of real-world events—ranging from elections to sports results—using contracts that settle based on objective outcomes. Unlike traditional sportsbooks, these platforms often operate under different regulatory frameworks and may be overseen by agencies such as the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The distinction between a prediction market and a sportsbook is not just legal but structural: prediction markets typically offer exchange-style trading, with prices reflecting the aggregated beliefs of participants, while sportsbooks set odds and act as the counterparty to bets. As institutional infrastructure matures, the line between these models may blur, but regulatory clarity and operational transparency will remain central to market growth.
