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Meta Platforms Inc has announced a major leadership change at WhatsApp, naming Cred founder Kunal Shah as the new head of the messaging platform while simultaneously investing $900 million in the Indian fintech company.
The move will see Shah take over from Will Cathcart, who has led WhatsApp for nearly seven years. Cathcart will remain at Meta and transition to a new role focused on building consumer products powered by artificial intelligence, according to a Bloomberg report.
Shah, one of India’s best-known startup founders, was personally recruited by Meta Chief Product Officer Chris Cox, who was looking for an entrepreneur with deep insight into markets where WhatsApp has become an integral part of daily life.
In a statement, Cox described Shah as “one of India’s most respected entrepreneurs, a serious thinker, and a deeply good person.” Shah, who is currently based in Bengaluru, will relocate to California and work from Meta’s headquarters in Menlo Park.
Meta said Shah’s experience as a founder and product builder made him a strong fit to lead WhatsApp through its next phase of growth.
“Kunal brings a deep understanding of how WhatsApp fits into people’s everyday lives, along with a founder’s mindset and a fresh perspective from outside Meta,” the company said. It added that he has a proven track record of creating products that resonate with users at scale.
Cathcart reflected on his time leading WhatsApp, saying he was proud of helping grow the platform to more than three billion users while expanding end-to-end encrypted messaging across multiple products and devices.
The appointment comes alongside Meta’s $900 million investment in Cred, which values the Bengaluru-based fintech firm at approximately $4.5 billion. The investment gives Meta a stake of around 20% in the company.
Founded in 2018, Cred built its reputation by rewarding users for timely credit card payments and has since expanded into a broader financial services platform. The company currently serves around 17 million monthly users and generated nearly ₹3,200 crore in revenue.
With Shah moving to Meta full-time, the responsibility of leading Cred will temporarily fall to Miten Sampat, who currently oversees company strategy. He will serve as interim CEO while the board evaluates the firm’s long-term leadership plans and prepares for a potential public listing.
Meta said its investment will include both primary and secondary capital, allowing it to inject fresh funds into the company while also purchasing shares from some existing investors. The company clarified that it will not take a board seat at Cred and will not have access to customer data.
The leadership shift reflects Meta’s growing focus on WhatsApp’s future business opportunities. While the platform has become one of the world’s largest messaging services, it is still in the early stages of expanding revenue streams such as advertising, subscriptions and AI-powered services.
Mark Zuckerberg welcomed Shah’s appointment, describing him as a founder with a strong product vision and a global outlook.
“Kunal built Cred into one of India’s most influential technology companies. He brings the builder mentality and international perspective needed to lead the world’s largest messaging platform,” Zuckerberg said.
Commenting on his new role, Shah said WhatsApp still has enormous untapped potential despite its massive scale.
“WhatsApp has already come a long way, but the gap between what it is today and what it can become is still huge. I’m excited to work with Mark, Chris and the wider Meta team as we shape the next chapter of its journey,” he said.
Reflecting on his departure from Cred, Shah said the company had evolved from a simple idea into a profitable and scalable business.
“I started Cred with the belief that creditworthy individuals deserve to be rewarded. In less than eight years, that idea has grown into a completely new category. With a strong team, fresh capital and a solid foundation, I believe Cred is positioned to become a lasting institution for decades to come,” he said.
Meta has steadily expanded its presence in India in recent years. The company invested $5.7 billion in Jio Platforms in 2020 and recently announced plans to lease its first artificial intelligence data centre in the country.
For Cred, the transition marks the beginning of a new phase. Interim CEO Miten Sampat said the company now has an opportunity to build on Shah’s vision and continue its journey toward becoming a publicly listed firm.
“More than 1.7 crore creditworthy Indians trust Cred. We have a generational opportunity ahead of us, and this next chapter is only the beginning,” Sampat said.
