Meta Invests $900 Million in CRED; Kunal Shah Steps Back to Lead WhatsApp Globally, Miten Sampat Takes Over as Interim CEO
The Indian fintech startup – CRED has now entered into a major new phase as Meta is investing around $900 million in the company. Along with this, CRED founder Kunal Shah has also announced that he is stepping away from his operating role at the company and will be joining Meta to lead WhatsApp globally.
Check out more about the update below.
CRED – Meta Investment and Leadership Change
As officially announced by CRED founder Kunal Shah via his LinkedIn profile, the company has raised another $900 million from Meta in primary and secondary capital. Reuters has also reported that CRED is raising around $900 million from Meta at a post-money valuation of $4.5 billion.
Speaking more, Shah also clarified that Meta is coming in as a minority investor in CRED and will not have access to member data. This is an important clarification, considering CRED’s user base and its position in India’s fintech ecosystem.
With this development, Kunal Shah is stepping away from his operating role at CRED, while continuing as a shareholder. Miten Sampat, who has been heading strategy and finance at CRED, will now step in as the interim CEO. Shah mentioned that Sampat has been associated with him since 2020 and will be leading the company along with the existing team.
Kunal Shah’s CRED Journey
In his post, Kunal Shah also reflected on his journey from exiting FreeCharge to building CRED. He shared that after exiting FreeCharge, he spent time learning and investing, while also thinking about why trust could not be rewarded. This eventually led him to start CRED with $1 million of his personal capital.
The company was launched with the aim of rewarding users for paying their credit card bills on time. Over the years, CRED grew from 0 to 17 million members, built multiple products during the COVID lockdowns, raised over $900 million from global investors, and also carried out four ESOP buybacks.
Shah also mentioned that CRED has scaled from 0 to around $325 million, or nearly ₹3,200 crore, in annual revenue across payments, lending, insurance, commerce, wealth, and credit cards. In 2026, the company also recorded its first profitable quarter and has now announced its fifth ESOP buyback.
Kunal Shah to Lead WhatsApp Globally
As for his next move, Kunal Shah has confirmed that he will be joining Meta to lead WhatsApp globally. The same development has also been reported by Reuters, which mentioned that Shah will become the new leader of Meta-owned WhatsApp.
In his announcement, Shah stated that while WhatsApp has already come very far, the difference between where it stands today and its full potential remains massive. He also said that he looks forward to working with Mark Zuckerberg, Chris Cox, and the leadership team across Meta for the next step in WhatsApp’s journey.
This marks a major leadership change not just for CRED, but also for WhatsApp, one of the world’s most widely used messaging platforms. For CRED, the new Meta investment and leadership transition signal its next phase of growth, while for Kunal Shah, this becomes another major chapter after FreeCharge and CRED.
Overall, this is indeed an interesting turnaround for CRED, as the company that was once questioned for its business model has now reported profitability, raised another major funding round, brought Meta as a minority investor, announced another ESOP buyback, and is seeing its founder move on to lead WhatsApp globally.
