Meta Platforms has invested $900 million (around Rs 8,550 crore) in Indian fintech startup CRED as part of its Series H funding round, while also appointing CRED founder Kunal Shah as the new head of WhatsApp.
Under the deal, Meta will acquire an approximately 20% minority stake in CRED. The investment values the company at a post-money valuation of Rs 43,239 crore (around $4.5 billion), with the funding comprising a mix of primary and secondary share purchases.
Meta also clarified that despite becoming a strategic investor, it will not receive access to CRED’s customer information.
As part of the leadership transition, Shah will step down from his operating role as Chief Executive Officer of CRED and join Meta’s global leadership team, where he will succeed Will Cathcart as the head of WhatsApp. Cathcart, who has led the messaging platform for the past seven years, will move into a new role focused on artificial intelligence initiatives.
Meta said Shah will lead WhatsApp’s next phase of growth, with a focus on expanding revenue streams through advertising and subscription products while integrating AI agents across the messaging platform.
Miten Sampat, who has overseen strategy and finance at CRED since 2020, has been appointed interim Chief Executive Officer with immediate effect. The company said its board and leadership are working on a long-term management structure as it prepares for an eventual initial public offering.
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Founded in 2018, CRED has built a platform catering to creditworthy consumers across payments, lending, insurance, wealth management and lifestyle services. The company said it now has 1.7 crore monthly active members and processes more than 40% of India’s credit card bill payments.
CRED’s lending business has grown to Rs 24,000 crore in assets under management for partner financial institutions. The company reported annual revenue of around Rs 3,200 crore and said it has achieved profitability while building a full-stack financial services platform.
The fresh capital will be used to accelerate growth, strengthen leadership across business verticals and expand CRED’s presence across financial services categories.
Commenting on the transition, Kunal Shah said CRED had evolved from the idea of rewarding creditworthy individuals into a platform serving millions of members with a profitable business model. He expressed confidence that the company’s leadership team would continue building the business as it enters its next phase.
Interim CEO Miten Sampat said CRED has a significant opportunity to build on its existing platform and continue scaling ahead of its planned public market debut.
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