Wired reported that OpenAI has terminated an employee for misconduct in prediction markets, including Polymarket. The company confirmed that the employee used confidential company information for trading, violating internal policy.
A spokesperson stated that OpenAI prohibits employees from leveraging internal information for personal gain, including in prediction markets. The identity of the employee has not been disclosed.
Prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi allow participants to wager on real-world events. For example, users can bet on what products OpenAI will release in 2026 and when. Payouts can be substantial—recently, an accountant on Kalshi won $470,300 by betting against Dogecoin (DOGE) supporters.
These platforms stress that they are regulated financial trading venues, not gambling sites. Earlier this week, Kalshi fined and banned an editor of MrBeast for similar insider trading allegations.
OpenAI has not commented further on the matter.
