Kunal Shah
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Kunal Shah | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Shah in 2015 | |
| Born | 20 May 1983 |
| Alma mater | Wilson College, Mumbai (BA) |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur |
| Known for | Co-founder of Freecharge and founder and CEO of CRED |
| Spouse | Bhavna Shah |
Kunal Shah (born 20 May 1983) is an Indian entrepreneur and angel investor[1] known as the co-founder of Freecharge and the founder of CRED, a fintech company valued as of 2022, at around $6.4 billion.[2]
Shah co-founded Freecharge along with Sandeep Tandon in August 2010 as a financial services company that allowed users to pay bills as well as recharge mobile, broadband, direct to home, and metro cards. In 2015, e-commerce company Snapdeal acquired Freecharge for ₹2800 crore (US$400 million) in cash and stock.[3]
Kunal Shah was born in Ahmedabad and raised in Mumbai, Maharashtra.[4] He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Wilson College, Mumbai. Shah later enrolled in a part-time MBA program at Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS) but dropped out within a few months.[2]
Career
In 2010, Kunal co-founded FreeCharge, a digital payments company, with Sandeep Tandon. FreeCharge quickly gained popularity, attracting millions of users. In 2015, Snapdeal acquired FreeCharge for $400 million.[3][5]
In April 2018, at the age of 35, he founded CRED with his own capital. CRED is a credit card bill payment platform that rewards users for timely payments.[6]
CRED has raised substantial funding from investors including DST Global, Sequoia Capital, and Tiger Global.[7] In June 2023, CRED raised $140 million at a valuation of $6.4 billion.[8] The company became the official sponsor of the Indian Premier League from 2020 to 2023.[9]
Other ventures and Investments
Kunal has invested in over 200 companies including Razorpay, Unacademy, and Bharatpe.[10][11] He has served as an advisor to Bennett Coleman and Co. Ltd. (Times Group) and AngelList. Kunal is also an Independent Director at Syrma SGS Technology Limited and Pine Labs.[12][13]