WhatsApp gets new chief as Meta taps India’s CRED founder Kunal Shah, and invests $900M in startup

Meta has made a strategic move by appointing Kunal Shah, the founder of Indian fintech company CRED, as the new leader of WhatsApp. This decision comes as Will Cathcart, who has guided the messaging service for nearly seven years, transitions to a new role focused on product development within the company. This leadership change coincides with a significant $900 million investment in CRED, structured through both primary and secondary share purchases. With this deal, Meta becomes a minority stakeholder in CRED, while Shah will step down as CEO but maintain his personal stake in the company. India represents WhatsApp’s largest market, boasting over 500 million users, a crucial segment of its global audience exceeding three billion. As Meta aims to enhance its presence in business messaging and digital payments—key areas for WhatsApp’s growth—this appointment is viewed as vital. Cathcart’s tenure has seen WhatsApp evolve into one of the most popular messaging platforms globally, amassing over 100 million users in the United States alone. Under his leadership, WhatsApp expanded its offerings beyond personal messaging, introducing features like Communities and Channels, along with integrations of artificial intelligence. However, the app's attempts to penetrate the digital payments sector have faced challenges, particularly in India where competition from local players such as PhonePe and Google Pay remains fierce. Meta is optimistic that Shah’s extensive experience in the consumer internet sector will be instrumental in driving WhatsApp's next growth phase. Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, praised Shah for transforming CRED into a pivotal technology entity in India, emphasizing the entrepreneurial mindset he brings to the role. Shah, who founded CRED in 2018, previously established FreeCharge, one of India’s early digital payment platforms. He is also recognized as a leading investor in India’s startup ecosystem, supporting over 250 companies and holding advisory positions across various industries. Meta's investment values CRED at approximately $4.5 billion, a rise from its last valuation of $3.6 billion in May 2025, yet lower than its peak of $6.4 billion in 2022. Following this transition, Miten Sampat, who has been with CRED since 2020 overseeing strategy and finance, will assume the role of interim CEO. CRED's leadership is currently working on a long-term management structure as the company gears up for a potential initial public offering, with the newly acquired funds aimed at fostering growth in its payments, lending, insurance, and wealth management sectors.