Meta Backs India’s Cred and Hires Founder to Run WhatsApp

Meta has invested $900 million in India’s Cred, and hired its founder to oversee WhatsApp.

The deal values Cred at $4.5 billion, and gives Meta a minority share in the company, though no access to customer information, the startup said in a Monday (June 22) news release.

“I started CRED in 2018 with a belief that creditworthiness deserves to be rewarded. In under eight years, that belief has turned into a new category: millions of members, ~₹3,200 crore (~US $325M) in revenue, profitability, a full stack of licenses and a strong brand,” said founder Kunal Shah, who is leaving to join Meta.

“On this foundation, with additional capital and an extraordinarily talented team, CRED is poised to become an enduring institution for decades to come. I’m stepping back with gratitude and with conviction that the team will keep raising the bar.”

According to the release, Cred’s platform “catalyses financial progress for creditworthy Indians,” with offerings around payments, lending, insurance, wealth and lifestyle used by 17 million members each month. The company said it processes more than 40% of credit card bill payments in India, “commanding significant volume in a category it created 8 years ago.”

While the news release did not specify what Shah’s position with Meta would be, a report on the funding round by Bloomberg News said he will replace the current head of WhatsApp, Will Cathcart, who is moving into a new role centered on developing artificial intelligence tools to create consumer apps and products.

In other Meta news, the company’s Instagram platform on Monday announced an expansion that essentially means Instagram can now be accessed from most connected TV platforms in the U.S. As covered here, the initiative is another stage in Instagram’s evolution from a photo-sharing app into a broader video entertainment platform.

“As television viewing shifts to connected devices, social media companies are seeking a larger role in how consumers discover and consume video content,” PYMNTS wrote.

“By introducing longer-form and serialized programming options, Instagram is moving closer to territory traditionally occupied by streaming platforms while leveraging its existing creator ecosystem and recommendation capabilities.”

The expansion is also happening as streaming and digital entertainment remain resilient categories even as consumers face financial pressures. Research by PYMNTS Intelligence shows that nearly three-quarters of consumers making cutbacks due to financial pressures are nonetheless still spending on entertainment services such as streaming subscriptions.