5c(c) Capital Research
Overview
5c(c) Capital (also written as 5cc Capital) is a New York-based venture capital firm focused exclusively on the prediction markets and event contracts ecosystem. Founded by two former Kalshi employees, the fund is targeting up to $35 million for Fund I, with a first close reported around April 2026. The fund's name derives from Section 5(c)(c) of the Commodity Exchange Act—the regulatory provision that governs prediction markets in the United States—signaling the founders' deep grounding in the regulatory and operational realities of the space.
Investment Thesis
5c(c) Capital believes that event contracts and prediction markets represent a generational investment opportunity and a transformative force in risk-taking. The firm's core thesis is that durable innovation happens when new ideas meet disciplined regulation—positioning them as believers in the regulated prediction market ecosystem rather than crypto-native or offshore alternatives.
Critically, 5c(c) does NOT invest directly in prediction exchanges (such as Kalshi or Polymarket). Instead, the fund targets the second-, third-, and fourth-order effects of the prediction market boom: the traders, tool-builders, analytics providers, and infrastructure operators that make the ecosystem function and scale. This mirrors how early internet-era funds that skipped the browser wars to back the infrastructure and services built on top of browsers often outperformed.
What They Back
Target investment categories include:
- Market making firms: Automated market makers and proprietary trading firms operating on event contract exchanges
- Prediction market indices: Products that bundle or track event contract markets, similar to ETFs for traditional markets
- Analytics platforms: Tools that help traders and institutions track, analyze, and act on prediction market data
- Ecosystem services: Data providers, liquidity services, order routing, risk management, and compliance infrastructure supporting exchanges and traders
Stage Focus & Check Size
The fund invests at the earliest stages:
- Pre-Seed: $500K–$1M
- Seed: $1M–$2.5M
The fund plans to back approximately 20 companies over a two-year deployment period from Fund I. They position as a first institutional investor and typically lead rounds.
Fund Details
- Fund I: Up to $35M
- Status: First close ~April 2026, actively deploying
- Target companies: ~20 over 2 years
- Lead tendency: Typically leads early-stage rounds
Notable LPs
The fund's LP base reads as a who's-who of the prediction market and adjacent crypto/fintech world:
- Tarek Mansour (CEO, Kalshi)
- Shayne Coplan (CEO, Polymarket)
- Marc Andreessen (via Moneta Luna)
- Micky Malka (Founder, Ribbit Capital)
- Kyle Samani (Former Managing Partner, Multicoin Capital)
- Additional LPs from Crypto.com, Pantera Capital, SV Angel, Paradigm, and DraftKings ecosystems
The LP list is notable for including the CEOs of the two largest and most rival prediction market platforms simultaneously—signaling a conviction in the ecosystem play above any single exchange.
Team
Noah Zingler-Sternig, Co-Founder & Managing Partner Former Head of Operations at Kalshi Exchange. Noah brings deep operational knowledge of how regulated prediction markets function at scale, having been involved in Kalshi from its early days. He writes the "50¢ Dollars" newsletter covering prediction markets and event contracts. LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/nsternig/
Adhi Rajaprabhakaran, Co-Founder & General Partner Adhi was the second trader hired at Kalshi's affiliated market maker, giving him a practitioner's-eye view of liquidity provision and market microstructure in prediction markets. His background as a trader positions the fund well to evaluate market-making and trading infrastructure investments.
Ella Papanek, Advisor Former quantitative trader at SIG (Susquehanna International Group), one of the world's largest options and derivatives market makers. Ella brings traditional quantitative trading and derivatives expertise that bridges prediction markets to established financial market infrastructure.
Geographic Focus
Primarily United States, consistent with the regulatory focus on CFTC-regulated event contracts under the Commodity Exchange Act. The fund's regulatory expertise centers on US markets.
Anti-Thesis
The fund explicitly avoids:
- Direct investment in prediction market exchanges (they have conflicts given LP relationships with Kalshi and Polymarket)
- Pure speculative/gambling plays without regulatory grounding
- Non-US markets where prediction market regulation is unclear
Decision Process
Partnership model with two co-founders making decisions jointly. Given the small, focused team, the fund likely moves quickly on deals—consistent with existing data indicating a 2-week decision timeline.
Founder Preferences
Given their backgrounds, 5c(c) likely favors:
- Founders with direct experience in trading, market making, or financial market infrastructure
- Technical teams with quant or software backgrounds
- Domain experts in derivatives, options, or betting markets transitioning to event contracts
- Repeat founders or operators from adjacent fintech/crypto infrastructure
Portfolio Status
As of May 2026, no portfolio company investments have been publicly announced. The fund is in early deployment phase with Fund I.
Portfolio Company Relationships
5cc Capital's website lists a number of companies under their 'Backed by the best' section, which they describe as 'Our limited partners hail from a diverse range of remarkable companies and venture capital firms.' These include operating companies in the prediction market space such as Novig, Underdog Fantasy, and Railbird (acquired by DraftKings). Some smaller, less publicly-known names on their website (including 'Crucible') may represent early portfolio companies that have not yet been publicly announced. The fund's first close occurred approximately April 2026 and deployment is actively underway, but no portfolio investments have been formally announced as of May 2026.