Daniel Mercer
Meta is making significant changes in the leadership of its widely used messaging app, WhatsApp.
Will Cathcart, who has served as the head of WhatsApp for seven years, announced his resignation on Monday. He will be succeeded by Kunal Shah, the founder and CEO of CRED, an Indian fintech firm renowned for incentivizing users who promptly pay their credit card bills.
“WhatsApp is in its strongest position ever — and this felt like the perfect time for me to step back,” Cathcart shared in a post on X. “We’ve successfully scaled end-to-end encrypted messaging to over three billion users. We introduced features for group chats, companion devices, and new platforms, while fiercely advocating for individuals’ rights to private conversations globally.”
While Cathcart will no longer oversee WhatsApp, he is not departing from Meta. Instead, he is transitioning to a new position within the company, where he will focus on “building new products from scratch,” as described by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a Facebook update.
This leadership transition coincides with Meta’s substantial investments in the infrastructure necessary to develop and operate sophisticated AI models. The company has revised its 2026 capital expenditure forecast to between $125 billion and $145 billion, an increase from the earlier estimate of $115 billion to $135 billion.
Simultaneously, Meta is exploring alternative revenue streams beyond its primary advertising business. This year, the company began launching paid subscription options across its platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Naomi Gleit, Meta’s Head of Product, indicated in an Instagram post that additional plans would emerge for Meta AI, online creators, and businesses.
For instance, WhatsApp Plus is available for $2.99 per month, offering users added features such as customizable app themes and icons, unique effect stickers, exclusive ringtones, additional pinned chats, and the ability to personalize chat lists.
Kunal Shah will now lead WhatsApp as CEO during this transformative phase for the company. He founded CRED in 2018, a fintech platform in India that provides a range of services including payments, lending, insurance, wealth management, and lifestyle offerings. CRED boasts 17 million monthly users and handles over 40% of India’s credit card bill payments.
“Kunal has transformed CRED into one of India’s most significant tech enterprises. His builder mentality and global outlook will greatly benefit him in managing the world’s leading messaging application,” Zuckerberg noted in his update.
This transition is also backed by a significant investment. CRED announced plans to raise approximately $900 million in a new Series H funding round led by Meta. This deal values CRED at over $4 billion and provides Meta with a minority stake in the company. CRED has assured that Meta will not have access to customer data as part of this investment.
Ethan Carter
