{"id":"luana-lopes-lara","title":"Luana Lopes Lara","content":"**Luana Lopes Lara** is a Brazilian-born entrepreneur and computer scientist known as the co-founder of the prediction market platform, [Kalshi](https://iq.wiki/wiki/kalshi). In December 2025, she gained international recognition after becoming the world's youngest female self-made billionaire at the age of 29 following a significant funding round for her company. [\\[1\\]](#cite-id-CK1g2I2RyTjgKtAd)\n\n## Education\n\nLopes Lara attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where she earned a degree in Computer Science. During her time at the university, she met [Tarek Mansour](https://iq.wiki/wiki/tarek-mansour), who would later become her business partner and co-founder of [Kalshi](https://iq.wiki/wiki/kalshi). [\\[1\\]](#cite-id-CK1g2I2RyTjgKtAd)​\n\n## Career\n\n### Early Career and Research\n\nBefore establishing [Kalshi](https://iq.wiki/wiki/kalshi), Lopes Lara built a diverse background through various roles in academia and industry. During her time at MIT, she was an undergraduate researcher at the MIT Media Lab (2014-2015), a teaching assistant at the School of Engineering (2016), and a researcher at both the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) (2016-2018) and the Brain and Cognitive Sciences department (2018-2019). She also gained experience in the corporate and financial sectors with positions in business development at Anheuser-Busch InBev, participation in a startup accelerator at ZX Ventures, a software engineering role at Bridgewater Associates, and quantitative trading internships at Five Rings Capital and Citadel Securities.\n\n### Kalshi\n\nIn 2019, Lopes Lara co-founded [Kalshi](https://iq.wiki/wiki/kalshi) with fellow MIT graduate [Tarek Mansour](https://iq.wiki/wiki/tarek-mansour). [Kalshi](https://iq.wiki/wiki/kalshi) operates as a financial exchange focused on prediction markets, which are markets created for the purpose of trading on the outcomes of future events. The platform is designed to allow users to trade on the anticipated results of real-world events through the mechanism of event-based contracts. [\\[1\\]](#cite-id-CK1g2I2RyTjgKtAd)​\n\nA critical milestone for the company came in November 2020, when it received formal registration as a Designated Contract Market (DCM) from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). This regulatory approval was a key step that authorized [Kalshi](https://iq.wiki/wiki/kalshi) to operate and offer its event-based contracts to users in the United States, solidifying its position as a regulated entity in the financial markets. [\\[1\\]](#cite-id-CK1g2I2RyTjgKtAd)​\n\n## Recognition\n\nLopes Lara's success with [Kalshi](https://iq.wiki/wiki/kalshi) led to significant financial milestones and public recognition.\n\n### Youngest Female Self-Made Billionaire\n\nIn December 2025, at the age of 29, Lopes Lara became the world's youngest female self-made billionaire. With this achievement, she surpassed previous titleholders, including Scale AI co-founder Lucy Guo and musician Taylor Swift. Her co-founder, [Tarek Mansour,](https://iq.wiki/wiki/tarek-mansour) also became a billionaire as a result of the same valuation event. [\\[1\\]](#cite-id-CK1g2I2RyTjgKtAd)​\n\n### 2025 Funding Round\n\nLopes Lara's billionaire status was the direct result of a successful Series C funding round for [Kalshi](https://iq.wiki/wiki/kalshi) in December 2025. The round raised 11 billion. The investment was led by the venture capital firm [Paradigm](https://iq.wiki/wiki/paradigm). Other notable investors that participated in the round included Sequoia Capital, [Andreessen Horowitz](https://iq.wiki/wiki/andreessen-horowitz) (a16z), and Y Combinator, all of whom had previously invested in the company. [\\[1\\]](#cite-id-CK1g2I2RyTjgKtAd)​","summary":"Luana Lopes Lara is a Brazilian entrepreneur and the co-founder of the prediction market platform, Kalshi. In December 2025, she became the world's youngest female self-made billionaire at age 29.","images":[{"id":"QmQ1dCdKGvF2yLBHyn3ss9c4dt3KqHqeKdpmDDVTVTgPKx","type":"image/jpeg, image/png"}],"categories":[{"id":"people","title":"people"}],"tags":[{"id":"Founders"},{"id":"PeopleInDeFi"}],"media":[{"id":"QmdMRFoKfa9aGRsr7faBSQM6yVUUXRH67iTxxCpod6u3Wm","type":"GALLERY","source":"IPFS_IMG"},{"id":"QmfFcFEJzBq9gAegrJJgwxKajgeZj8odM2GMCXHpNh26Yv","type":"GALLERY","source":"IPFS_IMG"},{"id":"QmPE1JgJid2jjwpJVX7YPvNDem8srXScEM5QUaBnivHwRZ","type":"GALLERY","source":"IPFS_IMG"}],"metadata":[{"id":"twitter_profile","value":"https://x.com/luanalopeslara"},{"id":"linkedin_profile","value":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/luana-lopes-lara-3151068a/"},{"id":"references","value":"[{\"id\":\"CK1g2I2RyTjgKtAd\",\"url\":\"https://www.coindesk.com/business/2025/12/03/kalshi-s-luana-lopes-lara-becomes-youngest-female-self-made-billionaire\",\"description\":\"CoinDesk reports on Luana Lopes Lara becoming a billionaire\",\"timestamp\":1773890113088}]"},{"id":"commit-message","value":"\"Added page for Luana Lopes Lara\""}],"events":[{"id":"218d0ca7-b697-4b70-8c5c-1140afab7def","date":"2019-01","title":"Co-founded Kalshi","type":"DEFAULT","description":"Co-founded the prediction market platform Kalshi with fellow MIT graduate Tarek Mansour.","link":null,"multiDateStart":null,"multiDateEnd":null,"continent":null,"country":null},{"id":"ecde6113-bca8-4eba-b90d-e0f99f706085","date":"2020-11","title":"Kalshi Received CFTC Approval","type":"DEFAULT","description":"Kalshi, the company she co-founded, received formal registration as a Designated Contract Market from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).","link":null,"multiDateStart":null,"multiDateEnd":null,"continent":null,"country":null},{"id":"2864c731-53a6-4fdd-a22a-8f1d86759c85","date":"2025-12","title":"Became Youngest Female Self-Made Billionaire","type":"DEFAULT","description":"Became the world's youngest female self-made billionaire following a Series C funding round that valued Kalshi at $11 billion.","link":"https://www.coindesk.com/business/2025/12/03/kalshi-s-luana-lopes-lara-becomes-youngest-female-self-made-billionaire","multiDateStart":null,"multiDateEnd":null,"continent":null,"country":null}],"user":{"id":"0x8af7a19a26d8fbc48defb35aefb15ec8c407f889"},"author":{"id":"0x8af7a19a26d8fbc48defb35aefb15ec8c407f889"},"operator":{"id":"0x1E23b34d3106F0C1c74D17f2Cd0F65cdb039b138"},"language":"en","version":1,"linkedWikis":{"blockchains":[],"founders":[],"speakers":[]}}