Raven Secures Strategic Funding at $90 Million Valuation

The landscape of prediction markets is undergoing a massive shift as institutional capital pours into infrastructure providers. Raven, a proprietary trading firm founded in 2023, has announced a new strategic funding round based on a $90 million pre-money valuation. This marks a significant milestone for the Sofia-based company, which only entered the prediction market sector in Q2 2025 but has already become a dominant force in providing liquidity for giants like Kalshi and Polymarket.

Investors such as Coinbase Ventures, CMCC Global, Hack VC, and Wintermute Ventures are backing Raven's vision of automated market making. The company's core strength lies in its adaptability across crypto exchanges and real-world assets. By offering deep day-zero liquidity, Raven ensures that new contracts in sports, entertainment, and economics have immediate trading volume, which is essential for platform stability and user trust.

Numbers and facts

The growth trajectory of Raven is evidenced by its soaring valuation. In early 2024, a seed round valued the company at $25 million while raising $2.7 million. The current $90 million valuation represents nearly a fourfold increase in just over a year. Raven's reach is extensive, operating on every major exchange and supporting more than 3,000 contracts to date.

Institutional expansion is now a top priority, signaled by Charlie Morris, co-founder of CMCC Global, joining Raven’s board. Morris brings extensive experience in decentralized finance and AI infrastructure to the team.

"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." - Charlie Morris, CMCC co-founder

Background

Prediction markets function as exchanges where participants buy and sell shares in the outcome of future events. Unlike traditional sportsbooks, these platforms rely on market makers to maintain narrow spreads and executable prices. Petar Kostov, co-founder of Raven, noted that the company’s expansion into this field has yielded significant dividends due to their ability to support both CFTC-regulated and on-chain platforms.

"At launch, we provide the opening liquidity. After launch, we stay in the book and help the venue expand into new categories as it grows." - Petar Kostov, Raven co-founder

This trend is mirrored in the broader financial sector. Non-bank liquidity providers (NBLPs) saw their market-making revenues increase by 22% to $25.6 billion in 2024. As markets become more electronic and automated, firms like Raven are capturing share from traditional investment banks. New regulatory frameworks in EU jurisdictions like Malta could further accelerate this growth by providing a legal basis for new prediction operators who require Raven's specialized services.

Why it matters for German players

For residents in Germany, the rise of prediction markets poses regulatory questions. The State Treaty on Gambling 2021 (GlüStV 2021) strictly defines what constitutes legal online gambling. Currently, platforms like Polymarket do not hold a license from the GGL (Joint Gambling Authority of the States). This means that while the technology provided by Raven is professionalizing the global market, German players lack the legal protections found at GGL-licensed sites, such as the 1,000 Euro monthly deposit limit and the LUGAS monitoring system. Engaging in unlicensed prediction markets can be legally problematic under German law, especially if the underlying event is sports-related, which falls under strict betting regulations.

What it means for GGL-licensed casinos

German licensed operators must compete with these highly efficient global platforms that use advanced market-making technology to offer tighter margins. While GGL casinos are limited by a 1 Euro stake limit per spin and extensive social responsibility requirements, firms like Raven enable international platforms to operate with high liquidity and minimal friction. For the German regulated market, this underscores the need for continuous technological innovation. If the GGL eventually allows exchange-based models, the infrastructure built by companies like Raven could theoretically be adapted to fit the German regulatory framework, provided all player protection mandates are met.