For years, nobody could quite understand Cred's business model. Now, in a joke going around the internet, Meta's investment of $900 mn in Cred is being attributed to Mark Zuckerberg finally realising that the only way to understand the Indian fintech's business model was to buy a large enough piece of it.
Jokes apart, this is one of the most interesting tech moves involving India's startup system in years. The investment values Cred at $4.5 bn, and founder Kunal Shah will now lead WhatsApp globally. On the surface, this looks like a large fintech investment, combined with a high-profile Indian founder getting a global tech role. In reality, it may be Meta's admission that the future of WhatsApp won't be invented in Menlo Park but in India's maidan.
