Meta Names Kunal Shah as WhatsApp Chief, Invests $900M

Meta has appointed Kunal Shah, founder of Indian fintech company CRED, as the new head of WhatsApp. Shah succeeds Will Cathcart, who led the messaging app since 2019 and is transitioning to a new product-building role at Meta. The move comes alongside Meta’s $900 million investment in CRED, structured through primary and secondary share purchases, making Meta a minority investor and valuing the startup at approximately $4.5 billion post-money.

India is WhatsApp’s largest market, with more than 500 million users. Shah’s experience building consumer internet and fintech companies in India is expected to support WhatsApp’s growth in business messaging, payments, and commerce. Cathcart oversaw significant expansion, including Communities, Channels, and AI features, but payments initiatives have shown mixed results, particularly against local competitors like PhonePe and Google Pay.

Shah founded CRED in 2018 after launching FreeCharge. He will step down as CRED’s CEO but retain his shareholding. Miten Sampat will serve as interim CEO. CRED has 17 million monthly active users and operates across payments, lending, insurance, and wealth management. The company is preparing for an eventual IPO.

As the platform seeks to expand beyond core messaging, Shah’s regional expertise could help address monetization and engagement challenges in one of the world’s largest digital markets.