Cred (company)

Dreamplug Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
CRED
TypePrivate
Industry
Founded2018; 8 years ago (2018)
FounderKunal Shah
HeadquartersBengaluru, Karnataka,
India
RevenueIncrease ₹2,473 crore (US$260 million) (FY24)
Negative increase ₹−1,644 crore (US$−180 million) (FY24)
Number of employees
800
Websitecred.club

CRED, legally known as Dreamplug Technologies Private Limited, is an Indian financial technology company headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka. Founded in 2018 by Kunal Shah, the company operates a platform for bill payments, lending, and other financial services.

As of 2026, the company was valued at around US$4.5 billion.

History

Cred was started in 2018 by Kunal Shah as a reward-based credit card payments app. Cred posted losses of ₹360.31 crore in fiscal year 2020, caused primarily due to high expenditure on marketing and advertising. By 2021, the company reported having 5.9 million users.

In 2021, Cred acquired expense management startup Happay and a liquor delivery startup HipBar. In December 2022, Cred acquired a 100% stake in CreditVidya that offers lending as a service to customers who do not have a credit score.

In July 2023, Cred acquired savings and investment platform Spenny. In February 2024, Cred acquired online wealth management and mutual funds startup Kuvera for an undisclosed amount.

In August 2024, the company became a certified customer operating unit (COU) on the Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS). In November 2024, Cred entered the motor insurance distribution business through its Cred Garage platform under a corporate agency licence issued by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI).

In November 2024, the company sold Happay to MakeMyTrip for an undisclosed amount.

In September 2025, the company expanded Cred Money to include investment products such as fixed deposits, gold investments, and portfolio management services. In March 2026, Cred received authorisation from the Reserve Bank of India to operate as a payment aggregator.

As part of Meta's investment deal in CRED in June 2026, founder Kunal Shah stepped down as CEO to become global head of WhatsApp. Miten Sampat was appointed interim CEO of CRED.

Funding

Cred raised funding from DST Global, Sequoia Capital (India), and Tiger Global, among other investors, through the four rounds of private funding so far.

In October 2021, Cred started to seek new investors, reporting a $5.5 billion valuation, up from $2.2 billion recorded in April 2021.

In June 2022, CRED raised $80 million in a Series F funding round led by Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, GIC, valuing the company at around $6.4 billion.

In June 2026, Meta Platforms announced an investment of US$900 million to acquire a 20% minority stake in CRED.[failed verification]

Investor Transaction name Fund raised Valuation
Sequoia Capital India Seed $30 million Undisclosed
Sequoia Capital, RTP Ventures, and 25 others Series A $636,000
Sequoia Capital, Ribbit Capital, and seven others Series B $120 million Increase $450 million
DST Global, Tiger Global Management, and seven others Series C $81 million Increase $806 million
Coatue, Insight Partners, and nine others Series D $215 million Increase $2.2 billion
Tiger Global Management, Marshall Wace, and eight others Series E $251 million Increase $4.01 billion
GIC Singapore, Tiger Global Management, and three others Series F $80 million Increase $6.4 billion
Meta Platforms Series H $900 million Decrease $4.5 billion

Marketing and reception

Cred became the official sponsor for the Indian Premier League for four years from 2020 to 2023. In 2021, Cred's advertising content and videos, made in-house featuring Indian celebrities, generated significant discourse in news and social media due to its peculiarity, which was both criticized and praised. Cred has received criticism for being overvalued and lacking a sound monetization strategy.

References

  1. ↑ Anupam, Suprita (28 August 2024). "CRED's Super App Revenue Stack". Inc42. Retrieved 12 October 2025.
  2. 1 2 "CRED nears Rs 2,500 Cr revenue in FY24; cuts operating losses by 41%". EnTrackr. 30 September 2024.
  3. ↑ "Kunal Shah's CRED raises $215 million to be India's latest unicorn with a valuation of $2.2 billion". Business Insider. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  4. ↑ "Kunal Shah's Cred turns unicorn in less than three years; valuation slingshots nearly 3X to $2.2 billion". The Financial Express. 6 April 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  5. ↑ "Cred valued at $2.2 billion with new round, Kunal Shah says 'conscious call' to not monetise in first 2 years". cnbctv18.com. 6 April 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  6. ↑ Patwa, Prasannata (26 November 2018). "Cred to launch product for credit card users". mint. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  7. ↑ Gooptu, Biswarup; Sharma, Samidha. "Kunal Shah: FreeCharge's Kunal Shah is back with Fintech firm Cred". The Economic Times. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  8. ↑ Bajaj, Karan. "Cred review: Makes credit card bill payments easier, rewards for timely transaction". The Economic Times. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  9. ↑ "How to pay house rent online with your credit card using CRED app". www.timesnownews.com. 11 June 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  10. ↑ Staff (20 April 2020). "Cred Rentpay, Stash services launched in India". BGR India. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  11. ↑ Goenka, Tushar; R Srikanth, Chandra (19 June 2026). "Meta in talks to invest in Kunal Shah's Cred".
  12. ↑ Vardhan, Jai; Tyagi, Gaurav (6 February 2021). "Kunal Shah's CRED spent Rs 727 to earn a rupee in FY20". Entrackr. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  13. ↑ "Big Spender CRED Banks On Rent Payments, Credit Lines For Revenue". BloombergQuint. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  14. ↑ J, Anand (11 June 2024). "Cred's new-user growth by 2024". Moneycontrol.
  15. 1 2 "Cred to acquire lending-as-a-service firm CreditVidya". mint. 29 November 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  16. ↑ "CRED acquihires savings platform Spenny". Moneycontrol. 23 June 2023. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  17. ↑ Banthia, Jyoti (6 February 2024). "CRED to acquire Kuvera for undisclosed amount". BusinessLine. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  18. ↑ Singh, Amit (23 August 2024). "CRED Enables Easy Credit Card Bill Payments Via BBPS". Inc42 Media. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
  19. ↑ "Cred rolls into insurance space via Garage platform". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 4 November 2024. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
  20. ↑ Shekhar, Roshni (18 November 2024). "MakeMyTrip to acquire Happay's expense management platform from CRED". Business Standard. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  21. ↑ Choudhary, Lokesh (15 September 2025). "CRED Adds Gold, Credit Card, Members-Only 'Sovereign' Club To Its Super App". Inc42 Media. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
  22. ↑ "CRED gets RBI nod to operate as payment aggregator". The Economic Times. 11 March 2026. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
  23. ↑ "Who is Miten Sampat? Meet CRED's interim CEO as Kunal Shah joins META | Company Business News". mint. 22 June 2026. Retrieved 26 October 2026.
  24. ↑ "Cred raises $80 million in a funding round led by DST Global, valuation now up at $800 million". Firstpost. 2 December 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  25. ↑ "VC firm Sequoia Capital closes second seed fund at $195 million to back startups in India, Southeast Asia". The Financial Express. 25 March 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  26. ↑ Srikanth, Chandra R (6 April 2021). "Cred Turns Unicorn, Raises $215 Million At A Valuation Of $2.2 Billion". Moneycontrol. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  27. ↑ "Kunal Shah's Cred Raises $120 Mn Series B Funding From Ribbit, Tiger Global And Others". Inc42 Media. 26 August 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  28. ↑ "India's CRED in talks to raise $200 million at $2 billion valuation". TechCrunch. 15 March 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  29. ↑ Singh, Manesh (11 October 2021). "Indian fintech CRED seeks funds at $5.5 billion valuation". TechCrunch. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  30. ↑ Manikandan, Ashwin. "Cred's valuation soars to $2.2 billion after fresh funding". The Economic Times. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  31. ↑ Ritu, Singh (27 May 2025). "CRED eyes $75 million fresh funding led by GIC amid 45% valuation drop". cnbctv18. Retrieved 27 May 2025.
  32. ↑ Salve, Priyanka (23 June 2026). "How a $4 billion Indian startup won Meta's backing but lost its founder to WhatsApp". CNBC. Retrieved 26 October 2026.
  33. ↑ "Exclusive: CRED in talks to raise funding, eyes $6.5 bn valuation". Moneycontrol. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  34. ↑ "After Unacademy, Cred Joins IPL 2020 As Official Partner". Inc42 Media. 2 September 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  35. ↑ www.ETBrandEquity.com. "CRED launches 90s inspired multi-film campaign featuring Anil Kapoor – ET BrandEquity". ETBrandEquity.com. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  36. ↑ Bhatt, Shephali. "Who made Bappi Da sing love ballads for credit cards?". The Economic Times. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  37. ↑ Misra, Shubhangi (1 November 2020). "With Bappi Lahiri to Govinda, India's ad industry is laughing at itself. Not everyone gets why". ThePrint. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  38. ↑ "Is self-ridicule the new ad formula?". Deccan Herald. 7 November 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  39. ↑ "Govinda's New CRED Ad: Here's Why the Dancing Superstar Said Yes". Latest Odisha News, Breaking News Today | Top Updates on Corona – OTV News. 29 October 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  40. ↑ www.ETBrandEquity.com. "Jim Sarbh engages with audience in Cred's new ad film – ET BrandEquity". ETBrandEquity.com. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  41. ↑ "CRED in the Indian Premier League (IPL): sixer or hit wicket?". The Ken. 14 October 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  42. ↑ www.ETBrandEquity.com. "Opinion: First you pay them, then you mock them? – ET BrandEquity". ETBrandEquity.com. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  43. ↑ "CRED… not everyone gets it: A copywriter's take". afaqs!. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  44. ↑ Dalal, Mihir (4 February 2021). "Forgive us for asking, but what's Cred's business model?". mint. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  45. ↑ "Worth $806 mn, Cred's Rs 52-lakh revenue sparks valuation, business model debate". cnbctv18.com. 8 February 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2021.

Further reading