Kunal Shah exits CRED CEO role to head WhatsApp globally; Meta leads Rs 8,550 cr round at $4.5B valuation

CRED closes Series H at $4.5B post-money with Meta leading the Rs 8,550 crore raise. Founder Kunal Shah steps down as CEO to take global helm at WhatsApp; CFO Miten Sampat takes interim charge. Platform serves 1.7 cr MAU and processes 40% of India's credit card bill payments with Rs 24,000 cr AUM.

— Source publishedMon, 22 Jun, 2026, 19:23 IST·First seen Mon, 22 Jun, 2026, 19:35 IST·Source Indian Express · Business

What happened

Cred · CRED raises Rs 8,550 crore in Meta-led Series H at $4.5B post-money valuation. Founder Kunal Shah steps down as CEO to lead WhatsApp globally at Meta;

Key facts

  • Rs 8,550 crore
  • $900 million
  • $4.5 billion post-money
  • $4.03 billion pre-money
  • 1.7 crore MAU
  • 40% of India credit card bill payments
  • Rs 24,000 crore AUM

Why this matters

With CRED owning 40% of India credit card bill flow and Shah now inside Meta, expect WhatsApp Pay-CRED rails convergence to become the defining India fintech partnership question of 2025.

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