Warsaw-based startup Elastics has successfully closed a €1.7 million (around $2 million) pre-seed round led by French venture capital firm Frst, with the round described as oversubscribed. According to reports from Menlo Times and startup databases, the round included participation from angels and operators across the AI and crypto ecosystem, including co-founders of voice-AI firm ElevenLabs, partners from crypto trading group XBTO, a co-founder of oracle project RedStone, and an a16z scout. The company is headquartered in Warsaw and led by co-founders Szymon Pawica and Mateusz Brodowicz, who are positioning the company at the intersection of quant trading, large language models, and on-chain prediction infrastructure. As reported by crypto.news, the funding will be used primarily to hire AI and quantitative talent in Poland and to expand integrations with major prediction markets such as Polymarket, Kalshi, and Limitless.
Elastics describes its product as an AI-native operating system for prediction markets where users can "trade with words" while autonomous agents handle research, execution, and risk management across venues. As reported by crypto.news, the system allows users to express views in natural language while backend agents translate those views into structured positions. These agents are designed to scan thousands of markets across platforms like Polymarket, Kalshi, and Limitless, track where conviction and liquidity are building, and execute and adjust trades 24/7 based on changing probabilities and user-defined risk constraints. The platform's "Trade with Words" feature lets users describe a position in plain language and have it executed automatically, eliminating the need for dropdown menus or limit order forms. According to crypto.news, there is a "clear gap" for tools that help non-quant users discover, size, and manage bets algorithmically as prediction markets mature into sizable venues for pricing everything from Fed policy to cloud margins.
Industry research cited by Elastics shows aggregate prediction-market volume growing 340% year-over-year to about $2.1 billion notional in 2024. According to crypto.news, venues focused on macro, elections, and AI topics moved from niche experiments to what Galaxy Research has called "crypto's first real consumer killer app." The timing is particularly significant as Polymarket is now valued at $9 billion after a $2 billion investment from Intercontinental Exchange, while rival Kalshi recently closed at a $22 billion valuation. As noted by crypto.news, the retail traders driving much of that volume are still largely operating without meaningful tooling, representing exactly the gap that Elastics is stepping into. The company intends to "democratize quantitative trading by equipping individual traders with AI-powered tools for automated research and execution" rather than limiting sophisticated prediction strategies to hedge funds. Recent data shows that Kalshi and Polymarket together account for an estimated 85 to 95 percent of total prediction market industry volume, with the Block Total industry volume for 2025 exceeding $63 billion, with monthly figures peaking near $25.7 billion in March 2026.
"Prediction markets are emerging as a new asset class in finance, and we believe the industry is still in its very early innings," said Pierre Entremont, Co-Founder and Partner at Frst, as reported by crypto.news. "Elastics is building the AI layer that this market needs and we're excited to back Szymon and Mateusz as they democratise access to quantitative trading tools that were previously out of reach for most participants." The platform is currently in private beta, with users able to apply for early access to Elastics AI, the agent builder, and Elastics OS. For co-founder Szymon Pawica, the urgency stems from the belief that "every trader who isn't using automation is already at a disadvantage," as reported by crypto.news. "We want to make sure that's a choice, not a constraint," he said, emphasizing that the old trading interface was designed for a world before AI. The newly raised capital will be used primarily to expand the team, with a focus on hiring AI and quantitative talent, and to further develop the product.
