Meta appoints new WhatsApp CEO as part of $900 million investment
Meta is investing $900 million in Indian fintech startup Cred and plans to appoint its founder, Kunal Shah, as the new CEO of WhatsApp.
Meta is investing $900 million in Indian fintech startup Cred and plans to appoint its founder, Kunal Shah, as the new CEO of WhatsApp.
The investment will give Meta a roughly 20% stake in Cred, a company that develops an app that rewards customers for paying their credit card bills on time. The startup’s market value after the funding is now estimated at $4.5 billion, according to Bloomberg.
Shah will replace current WhatsApp CEO Will Cathcart, who led the popular messaging app for about seven years. Cathcart, who more than doubled WhatsApp’s user base during his tenure, will remain at Meta. He will move to a new role where he will use artificial intelligence tools to develop apps and consumer products.
The 47-year-old Cred founder was selected by Meta’s chief product officer Chris Cox, who was looking for an entrepreneur from a country where WhatsApp already has a strong presence. Cox called Shah “one of India’s most respected entrepreneurs, a serious thinker and an incredibly good person,” a Meta spokesperson said in a statement. Shah currently lives in Bangalore but will be relocating to the San Francisco Bay Area to work at Meta’s headquarters in Menlo Park, California.
“Kunal has built Cred into one of India’s most important technology companies. He brings a creative mindset and global vision that will serve him well as he leads the world’s largest messenger,” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a post provided to Bloomberg.
According to the press release, Meta will provide both primary and secondary capital as part of this investment. This means that the company will also buy back shares from some of Cred's existing investors.
Shah is joining Meta full-time and leaving the leadership of Cred, although he remains a shareholder. Miten Sampat, who leads the company’s strategic direction, will serve as interim CEO while the board reviews Cred’s leadership structure with an eye on “a future IPO,” the press release said.
According to the Indian company, Meta is not receiving a seat on the board of directors and will not have access to Cred's customer information.
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