The former team members behind the forecast market platform Polymarket have launched a new venture. According to a release on Wednesday, it secured a $15 million seed round led by Union Square Ventures.
Other investors include Haun Ventures, Variant, Coinbase Ventures, Compound, Rubik, Earl Gray, Cursor Capital, Asylum, and several Angel Backers.
Co-founder Toni Jemaier emphasized that while forecasting markets have existed for centuries, the Internet age has made collective intelligence even stronger. “The polls are too late and biased,” he wrote, adding that the market is incentive because it costs real money when it’s wrong.
Gemayel also disclosed that the founding team will include Liam Kovatch, Nira Eyal, Nick Emmons and Jayavardhan Munnangi, signaling a lineup of veterans from the forecast market space. Scaling said it demands that the market be “fun to create, fun to trade, and supported by new structures that unlock liquidity.”
Startups aim to create an on-chain, unauthorized forecast market designed to meet regulatory standards while still remaining accessible to retail users. The forecast market allows participants to trade contracts related to real-world outcomes and generate collective forecasts with financial incentives for accuracy.
Platforms such as Polymarket operate in regulatory gray areas, suggesting that clearing companies are placing themselves as an alternative to compliance with transparent infrastructure and liquidity mechanisms.