Meta-owned WhatsApp is set for a major leadership change, with Indian fintech entrepreneur Kunal Shah named as the messaging app’s new leader. The move comes as Meta invests $900 million in CRED, the startup Shah founded in 2018.
CRED founder Kunal Shah will become the new head of WhatsApp, the messaging app’s current chief Will Cathcart said Monday in a post on X.
Shah will replace Cathcart, who has led WhatsApp for more than seven years.
The 47-year-old entrepreneur will leave his home base of Bangalore and move to Meta’s campus in Menlo Park, California, where he will join the company as a full-time employee.
Will Cathcart moves to new Meta role
Will Cathcart will not leave Meta but will transition into another role at the company.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Cathcart will “build new products from the ground up,” while Cathcart wrote on X that WhatsApp is in the strongest position it has ever been, making it the right time to step back.
A Meta spokesperson declined to comment on the specific details of Cathcart’s new role.
Mark Zuckerberg said Shah’s “builder mentality and global perspective” made him well-suited to lead the world’s biggest messaging app.
“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 messaging app,” Zuckerberg said in a statement.
Meta Chief Product Officer Chris Cox led the search for WhatsApp’s new leader. According to Bloomberg, Cox wanted a founder with deep roots in a market where WhatsApp has a large and established user base.
Cox described Shah as “one of India’s most respected entrepreneurs, a serious thinker, and a deeply good person.”
Meta invests $900m in CRED
As part of Shah’s appointment, Meta is investing $900 million in CRED, the startup said in a release. The deal values CRED at $4.5 billion post-money and would give Meta approximately a one-fifth ownership position in the Indian fintech company.
Meta will not take a board seat and will not receive access to CRED customer data.
The capital structure of the investment includes both primary and secondary components. A portion of the funds will go toward buying out shares held by current CRED investors.
Shah will step back from day-to-day operations at CRED but will retain his equity stake in the company.
Miten Sampat named interim CEO
CRED strategy executive Miten Sampat has been named interim CEO as the company’s board works through a succession plan. The transition comes as CRED looks ahead to a possible public offering.
CRED’s most recent outside financing was a $75 million Series G round, led by Singapore’s state investment vehicle GIC.
CRED was launched in 2018 as a credit card payments platform. The app rewards users who pay their credit card bills on time and gives them tools to monitor their spending habits.
CRED currently has around 17 million monthly users.
WhatsApp’s massive global reach
Meta acquired WhatsApp in 2014 for $19 billion. The messaging service has since become one of the most popular communication platforms in the world and surpassed 3 billion monthly users in 2025.
Among Shah’s top priorities at WhatsApp will be monetization efforts, including advertising and subscription offerings. He is also expected to oversee the broader rollout of AI agents across the platform.
Last month, Meta began rolling out subscription plans for WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram and said it would test new subscriptions for its artificial intelligence services.
These moves could help Meta diversify beyond advertising and recover some of the costs linked to its heavy AI investments.
Meta repeats founder-led strategy
The appointment reflects a strategy Meta has used before, pairing major investments with the recruitment of startup founders.
Meta previously linked a more than $14 billion investment in Scale AI to the hiring of its founder Alexandr Wang, who now leads a newly created AI lab within Meta.
Meta also made an earlier India-focused bet through a $5.7 billion deal for a 10% stake in Jio Platforms, aimed at accelerating commercial activity through WhatsApp.
