Meta to take roughly 20% stake in CRED for $900M

Meta will invest $900 million in a Series H round to acquire roughly a 20% stake in Indian fintech CRED, valuing the company at ₹43,239 crore post-money. The financing, a mix of primary and secondary share purchases, sets CRED’s pre-money valuation at ₹38,819 crore.

CRED confirmed Meta will join its cap table as a minority investor and that the deal does not grant Meta access to customer information. The company said the proceeds will fund expansion across payments, lending, insurance, wealth and lifestyle services and strengthen institutional capabilities.

As part of the agreement, CRED founder Kunal Shah will step away from day-to-day operations as chief executive and relocate from Bengaluru to Meta’s Menlo Park headquarters to take a leadership role connected to WhatsApp. Will Cathcart, who led WhatsApp for about seven years, will remain at Meta and move into a new position focused on using artificial intelligence tools to build consumer apps and products, a Meta spokesperson said.

CRED’s executive Miten Sampat will become interim CEO with immediate effect. Sampat has been responsible for strategy and finance at CRED since 2020. The company’s leadership and board are working on a governance structure aligned with an eventual initial public offering.

CRED reported about 17 million monthly users and said it processes more than 40% of credit card bill payments in India. The company stated its lending business has grown to ₹24,000 crore in assets under management, and that it generates roughly ₹3,200 crore in revenue while operating profitably and holding multiple financial licences.

Meta has previously invested in India’s digital infrastructure, including a $5.7 billion stake in Jio Platforms in 2020 and recent plans to lease an AI data centre in the country. The company has combined large investments with executive recruitment in past transactions.

Meta’s shares were down about 1.9% when the CRED financing was announced. Meta Chief Product Officer Chris Cox described Kunal Shah as “one of India’s most respected entrepreneurs, a serious thinker, and a deeply good person.” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote that “Kunal built CRED into one of India’s most important technology companies, and he brings the kind of builder mentality and global perspective that will serve him well in running the world’s biggest messaging app.”