US-based founder questions why Kunal Shah would leave IPO-bound startup for Meta job

California-based founder Harshdeep Rapal questioned why Shah chose to leave his profitable startup CRED for a Silicon Valley job.

Published on: Jun 23, 2026, 08:29:12 IST

By Sanya Jain

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Meta Platforms is set to invest $900 million in Indian fintech startup CRED, valuing the company at $4.5 billion, while also bringing founder Kunal Shah on board to lead WhatsApp globally. Shah’s appointment as the global CEO of WhatsApp places him among a growing group of Indian-origin executives heading some of the world’s most influential technology companies.

Kunal Shah will succeed Will Cathcart as the global head of WhatsApp. (Instagram/@kunalb11)

While Kunal Shah, 43, will join an elite group of professionals who manage platforms with billions of users and trillions of dollars in market value, at least a few people are wondering why he chose to leave his IPO-bound startup for what is, essentially, a job at Meta.

Founder questions Kunal Shah’s decision

Among those wondering about Kunal Shah’s decision was fellow entrepreneur Harshdeep Rapal, founder of Legitt AI.

In an X post, California-based Rapal questioned why Shah chose to leave his profitable startup CRED for a Silicon Valley job.

“On second thoughts, what would make a founder - running a multi-billion-dollar, profitable and about-to-IPO startup, that he has put blood and sweat to build, leave in favour of a job at Meta? (Whatever may be the perks, it's still a job),” he wrote.

Rapal was not alone in wondering why the founder of CRED chose to join WhatsApp.

“Leaving a multi billion dollar company pre IPO for a job at Meta, hmmmm interesting,” another X user wrote.

A serial entrepreneur, angel investor, and fintech founder, Shah founded CRED (a fintech platform) with a mission to catalyse financial progress for creditworthy Indians with 17 million monthly active users. His previous startup, FreeCharge, pioneered online payments in India over a decade ago.

(Also read: Who is Kunal Shah? CRED founder appointed as WhatsApp's new global head)

What’s next for CRED?

Miten Sampat, who has headed strategy and finance for the fintech firm since 2020, will take over as interim CEO with immediate effect.

The CRED board and leadership are currently in the process of constituting the "right" leadership structure as the company works towards an eventual initial public offering (IPO), the CRED statement added.

CRED, founded in 2018, currently serves 1.7 crore monthly active members and claims to process over 40 per cent of credit card bill payments in India.

It reported a reduction in operating losses to ₹298 crore in FY25, from ₹609 crore in FY24, on the back of product portfolio expansion.

The company's total losses also narrowed by 11.5 per cent to ₹1,457 crore during the fiscal. CRED saw its consolidated operating revenue grow by 16 per cent to ₹2,735 crore in FY25.

(With inputs from PTI)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sanya Jain
Sanya Jain is an Assistant Editor with Hindustan Times Digital. She has nearly a decade of experience in covering offbeat stories that speak to the everyday experience - from viral videos to human interest copies that spark conversation. Her interests stretch across business, pop culture, social media trends, entertainment and global affairs. Before joining Hindustan Times, Sanya spent two years with Moneycontrol and five years with NDTV. She holds an undergraduate degree in English literature from St Stephen’s College, Delhi, and a master’s in journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications, Mumbai. Sanya has a sharp eye for spotting emerging trends and looking for newsworthy angles to elevate viral posts into meaningful narratives. She was the first one, for example, to cover Narayana Murthy’s remark on 70-hour work weeks that sparked a national conversation. She is equally at ease writing about business leaders as about the common man, about issues of national importance and memes that amuse social media. Sanya enjoys speaking with content creators, newsmakers and entrepreneurs to transform everyday moments into engaging, slice-of-life stories that resonate with readers. When she is not working, Sanya can be found curled up with a good book. Born and raised in Lucknow, she has spent the last several years in Delhi. She is deeply interested in animal welfare and now spends a lot of her time running after her destructive orange cat.Read More

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