Kunal Shah

Kunal Shah

About Kunal Shah

Kunal Shah, founder of fintech platform Cred, has been appointed global head of WhatsApp following Meta's strategic investment in the company. One of India's best-known entrepreneurs and angel investors, Shah first came into the spotlight in 2010 when he co-founded digital payments platform FreeCharge with Sandeep Tandon. The platform allowed users to recharge mobile phones and pay utility bills while earning rewards before it was acquired by Snapdeal in 2015.
 
Shah later founded Cred, a fintech platform that rewards users for making timely credit card bill payments. Beyond his entrepreneurial ventures, he has backed several successful startups across sectors such as fintech, education technology, mobility, gaming and e-commerce.

Meta's Cox sought Kunal Shah's advice on WhatsApp, then made him leader

Meta Chief Product Officer Chris Cox reached out to Shah directly in the spring, seeking advice on picking the future leader of WhatsApp

Updated On: Jun 24 2026 | 8:13 AM IST

Will Kunal Shah be able to deliver on Meta's goal to monetise WhatsApp?

Shah has a portfolio of about 298 companies, focusing primarily on sectors such as consumer tech, fintech, SaaS, climate tech, AI and edtech

Updated On: Jun 23 2026 | 10:44 PM IST

WhatsApp's journey: From status app to world's default messaging service

With Cred founder Kunal Shah set to lead WhatsApp globally, here's a look at the evolution of the app that transformed digital communication and largely replaced SMS across the world

Updated On: Jun 23 2026 | 4:15 PM IST

Kunal Shah named WhatsApp CEO: A look at Indian biz leaders at global firms

Kunal Shah's appointment to WhatsApp adds to a growing list of Indian business leaders who built careers in India before rising to top roles at global firms

Updated On: Jun 23 2026 | 2:43 PM IST

Latest Updates on Kunal Shah

WhatsApp to invest $900 mn in Kunal Shah's CRED: What does the app do?

The platform operates a members-only financial rewards programme that targets users with high credit scores and offers them rewards and discounts

Updated On: 23 Jun 2026 | 2:31 PM IST

Meet Kunal Shah, the CRED founder set to become WhatsApp's global head

Shah will succeed Will Cathcart, who has led WhatsApp since 2019. Cathcart will move to a newly created division within Meta focused on building next-generation products

Updated On: 23 Jun 2026 | 9:55 AM IST

Meta invests $900 mn in Cred, Kunal Shah to head WhatsApp globally

Meta acquires a minority stake in Cred through a $900 million investment and appoints founder Kunal Shah as global head of WhatsApp

Updated On: 22 Jun 2026 | 11:42 PM IST

Meta taps Kunal Shah to head WhatsApp as part of $900 mn Cred investment

The investment gives Meta a roughly 20 per cent stake in Cred, which operates an app that rewards customers for paying their credit card bills on time

Updated On: 22 Jun 2026 | 7:05 PM IST

Cred revamps Kuvera app to deepen wealth-tech play, targets investors

Fintech firm upgrades Kuvera with new tools to improve investment discipline and performance, targeting affluent users with long-term portfolio management features

Updated On: 07 Apr 2026 | 7:05 PM IST

Cred gets final license from RBI to operate as payment aggregator

Fintech firm Cred receives RBI's final licence to operate as a payment aggregator, allowing it to onboard merchants and process payments across instruments

Updated On: 11 Mar 2026 | 7:12 PM IST

Mkt regulator Sebi clears Pranav Adani, others of insider trading charges

In a separate 63-page order, Sebi also dropped insider trading charges against Vinod Bahety, former head of M&A at the Adani Group, and three associated entities

Updated On: 12 Dec 2025 | 11:55 PM IST

Cred detected Rs 11K crore in credit card hidden charges: Kunal Shah

Credit score was never designed to be a consumer product, instead it was made for banks to be able to lend without having to worry about the customer's behaviour, Kunal Shah said

Updated On: 25 Feb 2025 | 11:53 PM IST

MobiKwik, Cred first non-banks to offer CBDC, launches e-rupee wallet

The wallets support transactions up to Rs 10,000 per transfer with a daily limit of Rs 50,000

Updated On: 28 Jan 2025 | 6:51 PM IST

Cred-owned Spenny eyes stock broking licence to rival Zerodha, Groww

With 13 million users, Kunal Shah's Cred looks to diversify revenues, complementing payments, lending, and wealth management services

Updated On: 15 Nov 2024 | 2:12 PM IST

CRED partners with ACKO to offer enhanced motor insurance for members

CRED members with credit scores above 750 will receive motor insurance at reduced premiums

Updated On: 11 Nov 2024 | 8:24 PM IST

Fintech company Cred's Kunal Shah is top startup founder-investor

Shah has invested in 266 startups, followed by Anupam Mittal, founder of shaadi.com, who has funded 213

Updated On: 24 Jun 2024 | 1:24 AM IST

AI may gobble up 90% of jobs, warns CRED founder & CEO Kunal Shah

"I think we should stop worshipping unicorns. We have to worship people who have large profit pools…" KUNAL SHAH, Founder & CEO, CRED

Updated On: 07 Sep 2023 | 10:19 PM IST

CRED-owned Happay lays off 35% of its workforce as 'restructuring exercise'

According to the report, Happay is giving impacted employees three months salary along with an extension of insurance coverage and some other additional benefits

Updated On: 15 May 2023 | 12:38 PM IST

CRED CEO Kunal Shah reveals his salary, takes Rs 15,000 per month

Moreover, a user on Twitter shared a screenshot of the story in which the CEO responded to the question

Updated On: 27 Feb 2023 | 6:19 PM IST

HR tech start-up Skillr raises $1.2 mn from Binny Bansal, Kunal Shah

The funds will be used to build a strong team, boost product development, and co-build powerful hiring solutions with early customers in India and the United States~

Updated On: 14 Dec 2021 | 5:34 PM IST

Kunal Shah backs OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei's consumer electronics company

Carl Pei, the Swedish tech entrepreneur, is working on a stealth project that he plans to unveil this month

Updated On: 22 Jan 2021 | 2:43 AM IST