CRED founder Kunal Shah will step down as chief executive officer of the fintech startup and join Meta to lead WhatsApp globally, as the Facebook-parent invests ₹8,550 crore (about $900 million) in the company through a combination of primary and secondary share purchases.
The development marks one of the biggest leadership transitions in India’s startup ecosystem, with Shah moving from running one of the country’s most prominent fintech firms to heading the world’s largest messaging platform used by more than three billion people.
As part of the transaction, Meta will become a minority shareholder in CRED. The company clarified that Meta will not receive access to customer data as part of the investment.
CRED said the Series H funding round values the company at a post-money valuation of ₹43,239 crore (about $4.5 billion), while Miten Sampat, who has led strategy and finance at the company since 2020, will take over as interim CEO with immediate effect.
Announcing the transition, Shah reflected on the company’s journey since its launch in 2018.
“I started CRED in 2018 with a belief that creditworthiness deserves to be rewarded. In under eight years, that belief has turned into a new category: millions of members, ~₹3,200 crore (~US $325M) in revenue, profitability, a full stack of licences and a strong brand,” Shah said.
