Meta to Invest in Cred, Appoints Founder as Head of WhatsApp
By Kelly Cloonan
Meta is leading a roughly $900 million funding round for Cred, and appointed the Indian financial technology startup's founder as the new head of WhatsApp.
Cred said Monday the series H round will give it a post-money valuation of about $4.5 billion, and will be structured through a combination of primary and secondary share purchases. With its involvement, Meta will become a minority investor in Cred and won't receive access to Cred customer information, Cred said.
Meta also appointed Cred's Chief Executive Officer and Founder Kunal Shah to head up its messaging service WhatsApp, succeeding Will Cathcart, who has been at the helm of the app since 2019.
Shah "brings the kind of builder mentality and global perspective that will serve him well in running the world's biggest messaging app," Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a Facebook post.
Cathcart will transition to a new position within Meta, where he'll build new products from the ground up, Zuckerberg said without disclosing further details on the role.
"WhatsApp is in the strongest position it's ever been - and that felt like the right moment to step back," Cathcart said in a post on X.
Miten Sampat, who has led strategy and finance at Cred since 2020, will take over as interim CEO at the startup, effective immediately, Cred said.
Cred's board and leaders are in the process of establishing the right leadership structure as they work towards an eventual initial public offering, the company said.
Cred's app allows members to manage credit cards, track credit scores and monitor financial activity across accounts, and rewards customers for paying their credit card bills on time.
Write to Kelly Cloonan at kelly.cloonan@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 22, 2026 11:55 ET (15:55 GMT)
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