How did Cred founder Kunal Shah end up running WhatsApp? Meta’s surprise move comes with a $900 million investment

• Meta is investing $900 million in Cred.
• Kunal Shah will become WhatsApp’s new head.
• He will replace longtime leader Will Cathcart.
• Shah will relocate from India to California.
• Meta will own about 20 per cent of Cred.

Meta Platforms is making a major bet on Indian entrepreneur Kunal Shah.

The company announced a $900 million investment in Cred, the fintech startup Shah founded in 2018. At the same time, Meta named the 47-year-old entrepreneur as the new head of WhatsApp.

Shah will replace Will Cathcart, who has led WhatsApp for about seven years. Cathcart will remain at Meta and move into a new role focused on developing consumer products using artificial intelligence.

Shah currently lives in Bengaluru, India. He is not an Indian American. He is an Indian entrepreneur who will relocate to the United States and work from Meta’s headquarters in Menlo Park, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The move came after Meta Chief Product Officer Chris Cox searched for an entrepreneur from a country where WhatsApp already has a strong presence.

Cox described Shah as “one of India’s most respected entrepreneurs, a serious thinker, and a deeply good person".

Meta said, “Kunal brings a deep understanding of how WhatsApp is woven into people's daily lives, alongside a fresh perspective from outside Meta and the founder mentality that built WhatsApp in the first place.”

The company also described him as “one of India's most respected entrepreneurs” with a record of “building products that people love at scale”.

Shah launched Cred in 2018 with a focus on rewarding people for paying their credit card bills on time. The company later expanded into spending analysis and financial services. Cred became widely known in India for its high-profile and often unconventional marketing campaigns featuring celebrities, athletes, and humorous advertisements that helped build strong brand recognition.

Meta’s investment gives it roughly a 20 per cent stake in Cred. The deal values the company at $4.5 billion.

According to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, “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 massaging app.”

WhatsApp surpassed 3 billion monthly users in 2025. Shah will now oversee efforts to grow business areas including advertising, subscriptions, and AI-powered services.

Explaining his decision to leave day-to-day operations at Cred, Shah 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 ($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.”

Looking ahead to his new role, Shah said: “While it's come very far, the delta between WhatsApp today and its full potential is massive. I look forward to working with Mark, Chris, and the leadership across Meta for the next step in WhatsApp's journey.”

At Cred, strategy executive Miten Sampat will serve as interim CEO while the company evaluates its long-term leadership plans and prepares for an eventual IPO.