Kunal Shah, the founder of Indian fintech firm CRED, has been appointed the new CEO of WhatsApp, succeeding Will Cathcart. This move coincides with a significant investment by Meta in CRED, highlighting Shah's journey from co-founding FreeCharge to leading one of the world's largest messaging platforms.
For Indians in the tech industry, this is a significant time. The founder of the Indian financial firm CRED will take over for Meta's long-time WhatsApp head, who resigned on Monday, June 22. Will Cathcart, who has been at WhatsApp for seven years, will be replaced by Kunal Shah, who launched CRED in 2018. CRED is a credit card payment platform that rewards users who pay their bills on a timely basis.
Alongside Shah's promotion to WhatsApp CEO, Meta made a significant strategic investment in CRED, investing close to $900 million at a valuation of around $4.5 billion, strengthening its position in India's rapidly expanding digital economy. In addition to raising awareness of Shah's business endeavours, the appointment has brought attention to India's expanding importance in the international IT sector.
The ascent to prominence of Kunal Shah did not begin in a boardroom. He actually came from quite modest roots.
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Born in Ahmedabad, Shah grew up in Mumbai and attended Wilson College to study philosophy. He enrolled in an MBA program for a short time then left. Like many other young Indians, Shah joined the workforce in the early 2000s by working at a call center, where he interacted with a generation of consumers and employees from international companies.
Co-Founded FreeCharge
His first major accomplishment came in 2010, when he co-founded FreeCharge with Sandeep Tandon. Users might receive incentives by recharging their mobile phones and utility bills through the site. As smartphones and digital payments gained popularity, FreeCharge became one of India's most identifiable online businesses.
Five years later, Snapdeal bought it, with Shah continuing on to manage operations before departing in 2016. At the time, it was one of India's largest startup purchases. Axis Bank later acquired the firm in 2017. Following Freecharge's success, he worked as an angel investor for several years, funding dozens of technological firms.
CRED Established
It was during this time that Shah pondered about his next venture and what problem he wanted to solve. In 2018, the solution emerged in the shape of CRED, a platform that was first created to incentivise consumers for making timely credit card payments.
Shah and his colleagues grew CRED from zero to almost 17 million members between 2019 and 2025. In addition, he raised over $900 million from international investors and carried out many ESOP buybacks while branching out into verticals including payments, loans, insurance, commerce, wealth, and credit cards.
Other Investments
Today, CRED generates nearly Rs 3,200 crore in annual revenue. Shah has established himself as one of India's most active IT investors in addition to CRED. He has made investments in a number of firms, including Go-Jek, Unacademy, Spinny, Razorpay, and many more. In order to solidify his position as one of the most connected individuals in India's entrepreneurial ecosystem, he has also accepted advisory and mentoring positions with some of the most significant startup accelerators and venture companies in the world.
Kunal Shah And WhatsApp
It was revealed on Monday, June 22, that Shah will take over as WhatsApp's next CEO. Will Cathcart will take up a new position at Meta where he will "build new products from the ground up," according to a statement released by Mark Zuckerberg.
Shah was chosen to manage WhatsApp because of his "builder mentality and global perspective," according to Zuckerberg.
According to a Moneycontrol story, Chris Cox, the chief product officer at Meta, went straight to Shah in search of a leader who could successfully represent the requirements of consumers, saw the app's global product potential, and knew areas where WhatsApp already has a significant footprint.
While Shah will begin work from India, he will eventually relocate to Meta’s headquarters in Menlo Park, California. Meanwhile, Miten Sampat, Shah’s deputy, will take over the reins at the CRED. In a message to his employees, Shah noted: “Team Cred, I’ll still expect you to be a 10x version of yourselves.”
