CRED's Kunal Shah named WhatsApp global CEO as Meta takes 20% stake in CRED at $4.5B

Meta invests $900M for a ~20% stake in CRED at a $4.5B valuation, with founder Kunal Shah moving to lead WhatsApp globally. Miten Sampat steps in as interim CEO. CRED, with 17M members and $325M revenue, is now weighing an IPO after completing its 5th ESOP buyback.

— Source publishedMon, 22 Jun, 2026, 19:59 IST·First seen Mon, 22 Jun, 2026, 20:05 IST·Source Mint · Companies

What happened

Cred · CRED founder Kunal Shah appointed global CEO of WhatsApp as Meta invests $900M for ~20% stake in CRED at $4.5B valuation. Miten Sampat takes over as

Key facts

  • $900M investment
  • 20% stake
  • $4.5B valuation
  • 17 million members
  • $325M revenue
  • 5th ESOP buyback

Why this matters

Meta's CRED stake signals an India fintech-distribution land grab via WhatsApp; pre-empt competitive partnerships with PhonePe, Paytm, or Razorpay before Meta's playbook tightens the field.

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