In one of the most significant founder-to-Big-Tech moves to come out of Indian startup land, Kunal Shah is stepping away from his operating role at CRED to join Meta’s global leadership team as the new Head of WhatsApp, succeeding Will Cathcart. The transition lands at a pivotal moment for WhatsApp, as the platform doubles down on business messaging, payments, and AI-driven capabilities across global markets – areas where Shah’s experience building one of India’s most influential fintech platforms makes him a natural fit.
Shah’s move coincides with Meta deepening its financial stake in CRED itself. The company is raising ₹8,550 crore (~$900 million) in a Series H round led by Meta, valuing CRED at a post-money ₹43,239 crore (~$4.5 billion). The round combines roughly $500 million in primary capital with $400 million in secondary capital, the latter enabling a partial investor exit and an ESOP buyback for employees. Meta joins CRED’s cap table as a minority investor, with no access to customer data.
Miten Sampat, with CRED since 2020 and instrumental in shaping its strategy and finance functions, takes over as interim CEO. Shah retains his personal shareholding in CRED even as he transitions out operationally.
With 1.7 crore monthly members, over 40% share of India’s credit card bill payments, and ₹24,000 crore in managed lending AUM, CRED enters this next phase backed by fresh capital – and a founder now steering payments strategy at one of the world’s largest messaging platforms.
