WhatsApp boss Will Cathcart has announced he is leaving his role after nearly seven years at the helm of Meta's popular messaging platform, which now serves over three billion users worldwide. He stated on social media Monday that while the platform is in "the strongest position it's ever been," it also "felt like the right moment to step back."

Cathcart will continue to play a role within Meta's leadership ranks. Taking over as head of WhatsApp is Kunal Shah, founder of Indian fintech startup Cred. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg praised Shah for creating "one of India's most important technology companies" and said he "brings the kind of builder mentality and global perspective that will serve him well in running the world's biggest messaging app."

Bengaluru-based Cred has sought to disrupt India's payments sector with a "members-only" service that rewards high earners for timely credit card payments. Prior to founding Cred in 2018, Shah was an investor and advisor to several startups across India and Southeast Asia, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Shah wrote on Monday that he would remain a shareholder in Cred while taking on the new role at WhatsApp, adding that Cred had raised $900 million (£679 million) in investment from Meta. According to Bloomberg, this gives Meta a 20% stake in the company. Shah noted that while Meta joins as a minority investor, it will have "no access to member data."

Meta's shake-up of WhatsApp's leadership comes as it looks to strengthen the app's already booming presence in India, where it has about 853 million users, according to World Population Review. WhatsApp is part of Meta's "family of apps," and the company has tried to boost revenue with ads, paid subscriptions, and AI tools. However, the app has faced recent scrutiny in India over its privacy and data sharing practices with parent company Meta.

Source: www.bbc.com