Cred founder Kunal Shah is in the limelight ever since Meta Platforms named the fintech entrepreneur as the new global head of WhatsApp. Meta on Monday announced that it will bring the 47-year-old on board to lead WhatsApp as part of its ₹8,550 crore ($900 million) investment in the Indian fintech startup. As Kunal Shah takes charge as the chief executive officer of the messaging platform let’s find out more about other companies founded by the Ahmedabad born businessman.
Cred founder embarked on his entrepreneurial journey in the startup ecosystem started in 1995 with Newtap Finance, an online platform that offered personal loans. He also co-founded QED Innovation Labs in 2018 primarily based out of Mumbai, which primarily focuses on entrepreneurial innovation and incubation, according to Tracxn. Newtap Technologies is another company based in Bengaluru, founded by Kunal Shah in 2021 which operates as a private equity firm focused on acquiring companies.
Kunal Shah, who has emerged as one of the most influential entrepreneurs in India’s startup ecosystem, first gained prominence when he sold his first venture, FreeCharge to e-commerce company Snapdeal, for around ₹2,800 crore. This deal signed in in 2015 was recognised as one of the in India at the time. The origin of FreeCharge can be traced back to 2010, when Kunal Shaf co-founded the platform with Sandeep Tandon. FreeCharge platform, which allowed users to recharge mobile phones and utility accounts, emerged as one of India’s most recognisable internet brands.
Kunal Shah brought his learning and experience to FreeCharge after his stint with cashback promotions company ‘PaisaBack.’ He founded this company in 2009 which ran promotional discount campaign platform for retailers. Notably, this small SaaS company was the to FreeCharge.
After selling FreeCharge, Shah spent several years as an angel investor. During this time, he backed dozens of technology startups. It was in 2018, that he turned to entrepreneurship again with Cred, which quickly grew into one of India’s most valuable fintech startups. This platform was initially designed to reward users for paying credit card bills on time and to promote strong financial habits.
Cred, which claims to process over 40 per cent of credit card bill payments in India, currently serves 1.7 crore monthly active members. It achieved major strides over the years as it headed for product portfolio expansion, substantially reducing operating losses to ₹298 crore in FY25, from ₹609 crore in FY24. In the last fiscal year, its consolidated operating revenue grow by 16 per cent to ₹2,735 crore while losses narrowed by 11.5 per cent to ₹1,457 crore.
Aside from his founded companies, he served as a part-time partner at Y Combinator and an advisor at Sequoia Capital and is an active angel investor with a vast portfolio of over 200 startups. He also works as an Independent Director on the Board of Syrma SGS, an electronics manufacturing services (EMS) company.
Kunal Shah’s early life
He secured a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from Wilson College, Mumbai. He got enrolled in Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, mumbai, but dropped out. He started working at the tender age of 15 to help his family tide over a financial crisis. Even during his college years, he got involved in gigs as a freelance designer and programmer as he continued to work to support his family.
Giving an insight to his , Shah wrote on X, “Exited FreeCharge. Spent time learning and investing. – Pondered about: Why can’t trust be rewarded? Started with $1M of personal capital. – Launched CRED to reward people for paying credit card bills on time.”
Reflecting on his journey between 2019 and 2025, he said that the company grew from 0 to 17 million members by aligning incentives with behaviour. This period was marked by ₹3,200 crore annual revenue across payments, lending, insurance, commerce, wealth, and credit cards.