Mumbai, India — Meta Platforms has announced a landmark $900 million investment in Indian fintech startup CRED, valuing the company at $4.5 billion, while also appointing CRED founder Kunal Shah as the new global head of WhatsApp.
The move marks one of Meta’s most significant investments in India’s rapidly growing financial technology sector and underscores the company’s commitment to expanding its presence in one of its most important markets. India is WhatsApp’s largest user base, with more than 500 million users, and the platform continues to evolve beyond messaging into payments, commerce, and business services.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg confirmed that current WhatsApp chief Will Cathcart will transition to a new leadership role within the company after serving as the head of the messaging platform for seven years. Kunal Shah, who founded CRED in 2018, also confirmed his new appointment.
The investment grants Meta a minority stake in Bengaluru-based CRED while ensuring that Meta will not have access to customer data, according to the company.
Founded in 2018, CRED has built a members-only platform catering to consumers with high credit scores, offering services across payments, lending, insurance, wealth management, and lifestyle products. The company currently serves approximately 17 million members every month, processes more than 40 percent of India’s credit card bill payments, and manages lending assets exceeding ₹240 billion ($2.5 billion) for partner financial institutions.
CRED said the fresh capital infusion will be used to accelerate business growth, strengthen leadership and institutional capabilities, and expand its product offerings across multiple categories.
Following Shah’s transition to Meta, Miten Sampat, who has led strategy and finance at CRED since 2020, has been appointed interim CEO.
The latest investment adds to Meta’s growing portfolio in India, which includes its high-profile stake in Jio Platforms, the digital arm of Reliance Industries, which recently filed documents for a public offering.
The deal highlights India’s increasing importance as a global hub for technology, digital payments, and innovation, while strengthening Meta’s long-term ambitions in the world’s fastest-growing digital economy.
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