Meta has named Kunal Shah, the founder of Indian fintech firm CRED, as the new global head of WhatsApp, alongside a roughly £680 million ($900 million) investment in his startup.
Shah succeeds Will Cathcart, who has led the messaging service since 2019 and is moving to a new role at Meta to build products from the ground up, the company said on 22 June.
The investment forms part of CRED's latest funding round. It gives Meta a minority stake of about 20 per cent in the company and values the firm at around £3.4 billion ($4.5 billion) on a post-money basis, Bloomberg reported. The round is structured as a mix of primary and secondary share purchases, and Meta will not take a board seat or gain access to CRED's user financial data.
Shah will step down as CRED's chief executive while keeping his personal shareholding. Miten Sampat, who has led strategy and finance at the company since 2020, has been appointed interim chief executive, CRED said. The startup is preparing for a possible public listing.
Some personal news. After nearly 7 years leading WhatsApp, I'm excited to share who will take over the responsibility of delivering simple, reliable, and private messaging for the world. WhatsApp is in the strongest position it's ever been — and that felt like the right moment to…
— Will Cathcart (@wcathcart) June 22, 2026
WhatsApp has more than three billion users worldwide, including over 100 million in the United States. India is its largest market, with more than 500 million users, and the app serves as a primary channel for personal and business communication across the country. Meta has been working to extend WhatsApp beyond messaging into payments, commerce and business communications, areas where its WhatsApp Pay service trails Indian rivals PhonePe and Google Pay.
From FreeCharge to CRED: Who Is Kunal Shah
Shah co-founded the digital payments company FreeCharge with Sandeep Tandon in 2010. The business was acquired by Snapdeal in 2015 in a deal valued at around $400 million and was later bought by Axis Bank.
In 2018, Shah launched CRED with about £755,000 ($1 million) of his own capital, building a platform that rewards users for paying their credit card bills on time. CRED is open to members with strong credit scores and earns money through lending, brand partnerships, and financial services.
In a post on X, Shah said CRED grew from zero to 17 million members between 2019 and 2025, expanding into payments, lending, insurance, commerce and wealth management. He said annual revenue reached about £245 million ($325 million) and that the company had cumulatively raised more than $900 million from investors. Shah said he spent the years after leaving FreeCharge learning and investing before starting CRED. He is also one of India's most active angel investors, having backed more than 250 startups, including the payments firm Razorpay.
It’s been a minute.
— Kunal Shah (@kunalb11) June 22, 2026
2015–2018
- Exited FreeCharge. Spent time learning and investing.
- Pondered about: Why can't trust be rewarded? Started with $1M of personal capital.
- Launched CRED to reward people for paying credit card bills on time.
2019–2025
- Built a system run by a…
CRED's valuation has shifted over time. The company was valued at around £4.8 billion ($6.4 billion) at its 2022 peak and at about £2.7 billion ($3.6 billion) in a funding round in May 2025. The Meta-led round values it at roughly £3.4 billion ($4.5 billion).
Shah and Zuckerberg on the WhatsApp Move
Announcing his departure, Shah said: 'As for me, I'll be joining Meta to lead WhatsApp globally.' He described the gap between WhatsApp's current state and its full potential as 'massive'.
Shah also thanked Cathcart, writing: 'Will, thank you for scaling something the world relies on quietly, and for making this transition smooth.'
Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said Shah's 'builder mentality and global perspective' made him a strong fit to lead WhatsApp. Cathcart, who had run the app for more than seven years, oversaw the rollout of Communities, Channels and a range of AI features during his time at the helm.
Meta did not disclose specific product plans for WhatsApp under Shah's leadership.
