WhatsApp's New Chapter in India

Meta is betting big on India for WhatsApp's next phase of growth, naming CRED founder Kunal Shah as the new chief, while investing $900 million in the Indian fintech giant.

Meta's move comes as the company seeks to expand WhatsApp's business beyond messaging, particularly in areas such as payments, commerce, and business communications. India, as WhatsApp's largest market, has been central to those efforts.

"Kunal has built CRED into one of India's most important technology companies," said Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. "He brings the builder mentality and global perspective needed to run the world's largest messaging app."

Kunal Shah, a well-known entrepreneur in India, founded CRED in 2018, a fintech platform with 17 million monthly active users. He has also backed over 250 companies and served in advisory and industry leadership positions across the country's technology and financial services sectors.

The $900 million financing round for CRED is structured through a combination of primary and secondary share purchases. The deal will make Meta a minority investor in CRED, which said Shah will step down as chief executive while retaining his personal shareholding.

CRED's board and leadership team are working on a longer-term management structure as the company prepares for an eventual initial public offering. The fresh capital is expected to support growth across its payments, lending, insurance, and wealth businesses.

"Meta is betting that Shah's experience building a consumer internet company in India can help unlock WhatsApp's next phase of growth," said a Meta spokesperson.

The appointment of Shah comes as Meta seeks to expand WhatsApp's business beyond messaging, particularly in areas such as payments, commerce, and business communications. India, as WhatsApp's largest market, has been central to those efforts.

• WhatsApp has over 500 million users in India, accounting for a significant share of the app's global base of over 3 billion people.
• The country has emerged as a key battleground for Meta's ambitions in business messaging and digital payments.
• WhatsApp Pay gained traction in India, but the service struggled to replicate the scale and engagement achieved by local rivals such as PhonePe and Google Pay.

In 2018, Shah founded CRED, a fintech platform with 17 million monthly active users, after earlier building FreeCharge, one of India's early digital payments startups.

Meta's investment values CRED at about $4.5 billion on a post-money basis. The startup was last valued at about $3.6 billion in a funding round in May 2025, below its peak valuation of $6.4 billion in 2022.

As part of the transition, Miten Sampat, who has overseen strategy and finance at CRED since 2020, will take over as interim chief executive with immediate effect. Shah will retain his shareholding in the company after stepping away from day-to-day operations.

The appointment of Shah marks a significant move by Meta to expand WhatsApp's business beyond messaging, particularly in areas such as payments, commerce, and business communications. India, as WhatsApp's largest market, has been central to those efforts.

The future of WhatsApp in India is looking bright, with Meta's investment in CRED and the appointment of Shah as the new chief.