Mumbai: Kunal Shah, an Indian entrepreneur and angel investor who co-founded fintech startup Cred, will be the new head of WhatsApp.
Announcing the appointment of Shah as global CEO of the widely used messaging and calling app, Meta Platforms Inc said it will invest $900 million in Cred.
The investment gives Meta a 20% stake in Cred, valuing the company at $4.5 billion on a post-money basis.
The 49-year-old Shah will replace Will Cathcart, who was in charge of the popular WhatsApp for around seven years.
Cathcart, under whose charge WhatsApp’s user base more than doubled, will take on a different role at Meta — using artificial intelligence tools to develop consumer apps and products.
Shah will be taking charge of WhatsApp at a time when it has surpassed 3 billion monthly users,
and is expanding into advertising, subscriptions and AI-powered services.
Shah, recruited by Meta’s Chief Product Officer Chris Cox, will relocate to California.
Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg was positive about Shah’s appointment.
“Kunal built Cred into one of India’s most important technology companies, and he brings the kind of builder mentality and global perspective that will serve him well in running the world’s biggest massaging app,” Meta CEO Zuckerberg wrote in a post shared with Bloomberg.
Shah founded Cred, headquartered in Bengaluru, in 2018. It offers consumers perks and rewards tied to their credit card repayments. The Cred app, which has 17 million monthly users, can also analyse and track spending, according to its website.
Cred raised $75 million last year in a Series G funding round led by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC, according to IBS Intelligence.
As part of its investment, Meta will provide primary and secondary capital, according to a press release. Hence Meta will purchase shares from some of Cred’s existing investors.
As Shah joins Meta full-time, he will remain a shareholder.
Miten Sampat, an executive leading company strategy, will be interim CEO till the board appoints someone full-time in that role.
Cred has an eye toward an “eventual IPO,” according to the press release.
Meta won’t be on the board, and won’t have access to Cred customer information.