CALIFORNIA — Will Cathcart is stepping down as the head of WhatsApp after seven years in the role. Kunal Shah, founder of the Indian fintech startup Cred, will succeed Cathcart as part of a $900 million investment by Meta into Cred.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the leadership change on Facebook on Monday. Cathcart, who became head of WhatsApp in 2019, will remain at Meta to build new products. He wrote on X that WhatsApp "is in the strongest position it's ever been — and that felt like the right moment to step back."

Shah will step down as CEO of Cred, which he founded in 2018. Miten Sampat, who has overseen strategy and finance at Cred since 2020, will serve as interim chief executive. Shah will retain his personal shareholding in Cred. The investment will grant Meta a 20 percent stake in Cred, valuing the company at about $4.5 billion on a post-money basis. Cred is an application that allows users to manage bills and receive rewards for making payments.

Zuckerberg wrote, "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." He also said, "I look forward to working with Kunal to continue to make WhatsApp the best service for billions of people and millions of businesses." Shah stated that Meta would have no access to Cred member data.

Under Cathcart's leadership, WhatsApp introduced encrypted chat backups in 2021, expanded to the iPad, and added private chats with Meta's AI chatbot. WhatsApp also began introducing ads during his tenure. The messaging platform has more than three billion monthly active users globally, with India representing its largest market with more than 500 million users. Meta acquired WhatsApp in 2014 for $19 billion. Cred has 17 million monthly active users.