Meta appoints Kunal Shah as new WhatsApp boss as part of ₹8,550 crore investment in Cred
Meta Platforms Inc. has appointed Cred founder Kunal Shah to lead WhatsApp as part of its ₹8,550 crore ($900 million) investment in the Indian fintech
Meta Platforms Inc. has appointed Cred founder Kunal Shah to lead WhatsApp as part of its ₹8,550 crore ($900 million) investment in the Indian fintech startup, according to an official announcement. The investment gives Meta an approximately 20% stake in Cred, which operates an app that is known for rewarding users who pay their credit card bills on time. The deal values the company at roughly ₹42,600 crore ($4.5 billion) on a post-money basis, the press release stated. Shah will replace the current boss of WhatsApp, Will Cathcart, who has been running the popular messaging service for roughly seven years. “While it's come very far, the delta between WhatsApp today and its full potential is massive. I look forward to working with Mark, Chris, and the leadership across Meta for the next step in WhatsApp's journey,” Shah said, in response to the announcement of his appointment.
What we know about Will Cathcart's next move? Cathcart, who oversaw a period in which WhatsApp’s user base more than doubled in size, will remain at Meta and transition to a new role focused on developing consumer apps and products powered by artificial intelligence, according to Bloomberg News. The company has not disclosed details of his upcoming project. Bloomberg News reached out to a Meta spokesperson but they declined to comment further on Cathcart's next assignment. Shah to lead WhatsApp's next growth phase at Meta WhatsApp is one of the world's largest messaging platforms and crossed 3 billion monthly users in 2025. While its user base has grown rapidly, Meta is still expanding newer businesses on the platform, including and subscriptions, the news agency reported.
Building out those revenue streams, along with integrating AI agents into WhatsApp, will now fall to Shah, the 47-year-old founder of Cred. Shah was recruited by Meta’s Chief Product Officer Chris Cox, who was looking for an entrepreneur from a country where WhatsApp already enjoys deep user adoption. India is one of WhatsApp's largest market, with millions of users. Also Read | Zuckerberg pumping $145 bn into AI admits Meta made mistake in workforce shift Cox called Shah “one of India's most respected entrepreneurs and a prolific voice for how the apps we build make a positive difference in people's lives,” according to a press release. Shah currently lives in Bangalore, but will relocate to the Bay Area to work out of Meta’s Menlo Park, California headquarters, a company spokesperson told Bloomberg News.
The BriefWire