Kunal Shah to become global head of WhatsApp; Meta invests nearly $1 billion in Cred

Kunal Shah to become global head of WhatsApp; Meta invests nearly $1 billion in Cred

Meta Platforms has appointed Kunal Shah, founder of Indian fintech startup Cred, as global head of WhatsApp, succeeding Will Cathcart, the outgoing head of the messaging platform, the companies said on June 22. As part of the move, Meta will invest about $900 million (Rs 8,550 crore) in Cred at a valuation of $4.5 billion.

Cred, the Indian fintech startup founded by Shah in 2018, is set to be led by Miten Sampat, the current minus one at the company.

Earlier this month, Moneycontrol exclusively reported that Meta had held discussions to invest in Cred at a $4 billion valuation, with talks also exploring a potential operating role for founder Kunal Shah within the social media giant.

Cred is the second startup Shah is exiting. He also built and sold Freecharge, an Indian digital payments and mobile recharge platform between 2015 and 2018.

Over the years, Shah has become one of the most prominent figures in India's startup ecosystem. In addition to building Cred, he has invested in hundreds of early-stage startups and founders, earning a reputation as one of the country's most active angel investors. Now, he has global ambitions and will move to San Francisco from Bengaluru.

"Kunal Shah will join Meta as WhatsApp's next leader. 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. I look forward to working with Kunal to continue to make WhatsApp the best service for billions of people and millions of businesses," Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, said on June 22.

Shah takes over from WhatApp's current head, Will Cathcart, who will be stepping down.

"Will Cathcart just announced that he's stepping down as the head of WhatsApp after 7 years leading the app. Will's been one of Meta's most important and effective leaders, helping to bring WhatsApp to over 3 billion people and championing privacy for our community. I'm super grateful for his partnership and contributions over these years. Will is transitioning to a new role within Meta where he'll build new products from the ground-up -- I'm excited to continue to work together closely," Zuckerberg added.

Kunal Shah, founder, CRED, said: “I started Cred in 2018 with a belief that creditworthiness deserves to be rewarded. In under eight years, that belief has turned into a new category: millions of members, ~₹3,200 crore (~US $325M) in revenue, profitability, a full stack of licences and a strong brand. On this foundation, with additional capital and an extraordinarily talented team, CRED is poised to become an enduring institution for decades to come. I’m stepping back with gratitude and with conviction that the team will keep raising the bar.”

Operational responsibilities at Cred are set to transition to Miten Sampat, who currently serves as Shah's second-in-command at the fintech startup.

Miten Sampat, interim CEO, CRED, said: “1.7 crore creditworthy Indians trust Cred with improving their relationship with money. Behind this is a high-talent-density team that has consistently demonstrated ownership, mission orientation, and taste. We have a generational opportunity to build on Kunal’s vision and compound consistently towards becoming a public company. I’m excited to take CRED forward in its next chapter. We are just getting started.”

Since its inception about eight years ago, Cred has so far raised around $1 billion from Tiger Global, Ribbit Capital, Peak XV Partners, Greenoaks Capital, DST Global and several others.

Shailendra Singh, MD, PeakXV Partners, said: “CRED has had a highly inspiring startup journey since we led the seed round in 2018 and a lot of the credit for its unusual success goes to Kunal - whom we’ve partnered for over a decade - and the core leadership team at CRED. The company has created a category, amassed millions of highly engaged users, and built a sound economic engine. We are excited about the next phase of CRED as it strengthens the product, platform, and distribution moats it has built, and believe it will go from strength to strength in the years ahead.”

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