During her time at MIT studying computer science and math, Luana Lopes Lara connected with fellow student Tarek Mansour, forging a partnership that deepened through shared 2018 internships at Five Rings Capital in New York.
Luana Lopes Lara, a 29-year-old Brazilian-born entrepreneur, has become the world’s youngest self-made female billionaire after her prediction market platform Kalshi reached an $11 billion valuation. This milestone, highlighted in a recent Forbes report, follows a $1 billion funding round led by Paradigm with participation from Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, and Y Combinator, boosting her and co-founder Tarek Mansour’s net worth to $1.3 billion each.
Early life and ballet discipline
Born in Brazil, Lopes Lara grew up excelling in academics, winning gold in the Brazilian Astronomy Olympiad and bronze in the Santa Catarina Mathematics Olympiad, inspired by her math teacher mother and engineer father. She trained rigorously at a Brazilian ballet school and the Bolshoi Theatre School, later performing professionally as a ballerina in Austria for nine months at the Salzburg State Theater, describing the environment as more intense than MIT.
Academic pivot to tech at MIT
Transitioning from dance, Lopes Lara moved to the US, earning a computer science degree from MIT where she met Mansour, her future co-founder. Their bond strengthened during 2018 internships at Five Rings Capital in New York, where walks home sparked the idea for Kalshi after noticing how traders bet on future events without direct markets.
Finance internships shape vision
Before founding Kalshi, she interned at elite firms including Bridgewater Associates, Citadel, Citadel Securities, and Five Rings Capital, gaining quantitative trading experience. She also researched at MIT’s Brain and Cognitive Science Center, blending her analytical skills from ballet’s precision with financial markets expertise.
Founding Kalshi amid regulatory battles
Launched in 2018 (operations from 2019), Kalshi became the first CFTC-regulated prediction market in 2020, letting users trade event contracts on elections, sports, and culture. Facing hurdles like blocked election bets, Lopes Lara sued the CFTC and won in September 2024, enabling historic US election trading with over $500 million in volume accurately predicting outcomes early; sports now drive 90% of its $1 billion+ weekly volume.
Explosive growth and future plans
Kalshi’s valuation soared from $2 billion in June to $11 billion, outpacing rival Polymarket, with integrations like Robinhood, Webull, NHL, StockX, and Solana plus liquidity from Susquehanna. The new funds target brokerage expansions and media partnerships, cementing Lopes Lara’s shift from stage to fintech dominance.
