Not just FreeCharge and Cred — Full list of other companies founded by Kunal Shah

Cred founder Kunal Shah has been in the spotlight ever since Meta Platforms named the fintech entrepreneur as the new global head of WhatsApp. On Monday, Meta announced that it would hire the 47-year-old to run WhatsApp as part of WhatsApp. ₹8,550 crore ($900 million) investment in Indian fintech startup. While Kunal Shah serves as the chief executive officer of the messaging platform, let’s know more about the other companies founded by the Ahmedabad-born businessman.

The Cred founder began his entrepreneurial journey in the startup ecosystem in 1995 with Newtap Finance, an online platform offering personal loans. He also co-founded QED Innovation Labs in 2018, which is based in Mumbai and focuses primarily on entrepreneurial innovation and incubation, according to Tracxn. Newtap Technologies is another Bengaluru-based company founded by Kunal Shah in 2021 and operates as a private equity firm focusing on acquisitions.

Kunal Shah, who has emerged as one of the most influential entrepreneurs of India’s startup ecosystem, launched his first venture, FreeCharge, by e-commerce company Snapdeal. ₹2,800 crore. This deal, signed in 2015, was considered one of the largest startup acquisitions in India at that time. The origins of FreeCharge can be traced back to 2010 when Kunal Shaf founded the platform along with Sandeep Tandon. The FreeCharge platform, which allows users to recharge their mobile phones and service accounts, has emerged as one of India’s most recognized internet brands.

After his stint at cashback promotions company ‘PaisaBack’, Kunal Shah brought his learning and experience to FreeCharge. He founded this company in 2009, which runs a promotional discount campaign platform for retailers. Notably, this small SaaS company was the key stepping stone to FreeCharge.

After selling FreeCharge, Shah spent several years as an angel investor. During this time, he supported dozens of technology startups. In 2018, he turned to entrepreneurship again with Cred, which quickly became one of India’s most valuable fintech startups. This platform was originally designed to reward users who pay their credit card bills on time and encourage strong financial habits.

Cred, which claims to process more than 40 percent of credit card bill payments in India, currently serves 1.7 crore monthly active members. It has made great strides over the years and significantly reduced operating losses as it looks to expand its product portfolio. ₹298 crore in FY25, ₹609 crore in FY24. Last fiscal year, consolidated operating income increased by 16 percent ₹2,735 crore, while losses narrowed by 11.5 percent ₹1,457 crore.

In addition to the companies he founded, he has served as a part-time partner at Y Combinator and an advisor at Sequoia Capital, and is an active angel investor with a broad portfolio of over 200 startups. He also serves as an Independent Director on the Board of Syrma SGS, an electronic manufacturing services (EMS) company.

Kunal Shah’s early life

He earned a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from Wilson College, Mumbai. He enrolled at the Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies in Mumbai but dropped out. He started working when he was 15 to help his family get through the financial crisis. Even during his university years, he participated in concerts as a freelance designer and programmer while continuing to work to support his family.

Giving an insight into his entrepreneurial journey, Shah wrote about

Reflecting on its journey between 2019 and 2025, he said that by aligning incentives with behavior, the company increased its membership from 0 to 17 million. He left his mark on this period ₹3,200 crore annually comes from payments, lending, insurance, trading, wealth and credit cards.