Kunal Shah to lead WhatsApp globally as Meta takes $900M minority stake in CRED

CRED founder Kunal Shah is set to become global head of WhatsApp, with Meta investing $900M in CRED as a minority shareholder. The move signals Meta's intent to scale WhatsApp Pay against PhonePe and Google Pay across India's 500M-user UPI market.

— Filed Tue, 23 Jun, 2026, 13:15 IST · Source Business Today · Latest · Updated

CRED founder Kunal Shah will become global head of WhatsApp, as Meta invests $900M in CRED as minority shareholder. Move signals Meta's push to scale WhatsApp Pay against PhonePe and Google Pay in India's UPI market.

Why this matters

Marks a major leadership shift for CRED, with founder Kunal Shah moving to a global Meta role while CRED gains a strategic investor positioned to accelerate WhatsApp Pay's UPI push.

Leadership signals steady at 351 in the last 90 days.