CRED Founder Kunal Shah to Lead WhatsApp Globally, Meta Invests $900 Million
Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook, has appointed Kunal Shah, founder and CEO of Indian fintech startup CRED, as the new global head of WhatsApp. The appointment is effective from this week, according to a company announcement.
As part of the leadership change, Meta will invest $900 million (approximately ₹8,550 crore) in CRED. Meta described the investment as a passive financial stake, with no access to customer data. The funds will enable CRED to proceed with employee stock option buybacks.
Kunal Shah, known for building CRED into a platform that processes over a third of India's credit card bill payments, will step down as CEO of CRED. Miten Sampat, a senior executive at CRED, will serve as interim CEO. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Sampat said, 'Meta’s $900M minority investment is a booster in our plans to build an enduring institution with an eventual public listing.'
Will Cathcart, who led WhatsApp for seven years and was a vocal advocate for end-to-end encryption, will remain at Meta in other roles, as confirmed by Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Facebook. Cathcart had also taken public positions against spyware targeting WhatsApp.
Zuckerberg stated, 'Kunal built CRED into one of India’s most important technology companies, and he brings the kind of builder mentality and global perspective that will serve him well in running the world’s biggest messaging app.'
WhatsApp has over three billion users globally, with a plurality in India. However, the platform has not yet fully monetized its user base. In a statement, Shah indicated his focus would be on realizing the app's commercial potential. He wrote on X, 'While [the app has] come very far, the delta between WhatsApp today and its full potential is massive.'
Shah's entrepreneurial background includes founding PaisaBack, a cashback service in 2009, and FreeCharge, a mobile wallet acquired by Snapdeal in 2015. He has also been an active angel investor in fintech firms such as Razorpay.
