Kunal 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 at around $6.4 billion.^[2][3]

Kunal Shah
Born	(1983-05-20) 20 May 1983 (age 42)
Alma mater	Wilson College, Mumbai (BA)
Occupation	Entrepreneur
Known for	Freecharge, CRED
Title	Co-founder of Freecharge Founder and CEO of CRED
Spouse	Bhavna Shah

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, DTH and metro cards. In 2015, e-commerce company Snapdeal acquired Freecharge for ₹2800 crore (US$400 million) in cash and stock.^[4]

Early life and education

Kunal Shah was born in Ahmedabad and raised in Mumbai, Maharashtra.^[5] 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.^[4][6]

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.^[7]

CRED has raised substantial funding from investors including DST Global, Sequoia Capital, and Tiger Global.^[8] In June 2023, CRED raised $140 million at a valuation of $6.4 billion.^[9] The company became the official sponsor of the Indian Premier League from 2020 to 2023.^[10]

Other ventures and Investments

Kunal is an angel investor, having invested in over 200 companies including Razorpay, Unacademy, and Bharatpe.^[11][12] 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.^[13][14]

Awards and recognition

• Fortune 40 under 40 (2016)^[15]
• Comeback award - Economic Times (2016)^[16]
• Economic Times 40 under 40 (2016)^[17]
• 97th in the Fintech Top 100 Leaders for 2025 - Fintech Magazine^[18]

Personal life

Kunal Shah is married to Bhavna Shah,^[2] who works as a freelance graphic designer. Kunal is known for his active presence on social media platforms, where he often shares insights on various topics including entrepreneurship and consumer behavior.^[19][20]

As of 2023, Shah's net worth is estimated to be over $500 million.^[21]