Rahul Rao

designer - CRED, phele - makemytrip.

[Rahul Rao @out_oflux]

Never thought Monday could be this crazy 🔥🔥

[miten sampat @miten]

In 2020 when I joined @kunalb11 at CRED, I was drawn to the incredible team and a contrarian idea – “not everyone gets it”

we had ~1M members & $750M TPV

fast forward to 2026, CRED’s impact among India’s most creditworthy is clear, we now serve 17M members & process $100B in TPV

we’ve built with taste, always keeping our members' trust & financial progress as our north star

this momentum is the outcome of ambition, craft, ownership and relentless standards of our team at CRED.

Meta’s $900M minority investment is a booster in our plans to build an enduring institution with an eventual public listing. Meta will be a passive financial investor with no-access to customer data.

Kunal: thanks for being thankless and always 5x-ing each target.

proud to build the next phase of CRED with the best team in Indian fintech.

back to work 🚀

[Rahul Rao @out_oflux]

🤞💎🔥

[Kunal Shah @kunalb11]

It’s been a minute.

2015–2018
- Exited FreeCharge. Spent time learning and investing.
- Pondered about: Why can't trust be rewarded? Started with $1M of personal capital.
- Launched CRED to reward people for paying credit card bills on time.

2019–2025
- Built a system run by a team that values ownership, judgment, and craft.
- Grew from 0 to 17M members by aligning incentives with behaviour.
- Built several products during COVID lockdowns.
- Raised $900M+ from global investors. Did 4 ESOP buybacks.
- Made Indiranagar and IPL ads slightly more interesting.
- Received a full stack of regulatory licences.
- Lost 35 kilos.
- Scaled from 0 to ~$325M ( ~₹3,200 crore) in annual revenue across payments, lending, insurance, commerce, wealth, and credit cards.
2026
- First profitable quarter (yet occasionally asked what our business model is)
- Raised another $900M from Meta in primary and secondary capital.
- Announcing our 5th ESOP buyback.

Today

CRED is ready for its next phase. I am stepping back and @miten steps in as interim CEO, partnered with an incredibly talented team. He has been heading strategy and finance and suffering me since 2020. I’m stepping away from the operating role and will continue as a shareholder. My commitment doesn’t change. Just the role.

Extremely grateful to our members, partners, regulators, and investors who made this possible. And to our board, Shailendra, Micky, Saurabh for their extraordinary conviction.

Team CRED, I’ll still expect you to be a 10x version of yourselves.

As for me, I’ll be joining Meta to lead WhatsApp globally.

Meta comes in as a minority investor in CRED. No access to member data.

While it’s come very far, the delta between WhatsApp today and its full potential is massive. I look forward to working with Mark, Chris, and the leadership across Meta for the next step in WhatsApp’s journey. Will, thank you for scaling something the world relies on quietly, and for making this transition smooth.

Onwards.

[Rahul Rao @out_oflux]

🤳@harindesign 🫂

[Rahul Rao @out_oflux]

a day out with mafia’s 🫂

[Rahul Rao @out_oflux]

@LiquidatorAB_ Mast interaction bhai 🫶🔥🌻

[Rahul Rao @out_oflux]

gatekeeping this post

[aa-yushi @probablyaayushi]

sorry, but I’m gatekeeping this new café in Koramangala.

[Rahul Rao @out_oflux]

@deepak_creates @0xRicheshGupta @chirag_hoodi

[Rahul Rao @out_oflux]

@LiquidatorAB_ Cat ?

[Rahul Rao @out_oflux]

@j4ykadam Sad

[Rahul Rao @out_oflux]

@nihalnova @goodairindia Veryy verryyy goood sirr 🔥🔥🫶

[Rahul Rao @out_oflux]

@deadsec07 @claudeai @PolarGlobal 🔥🔥🔥

[Rahul Rao @out_oflux]

🔥🔥🫂

[Aswin @deadsec07]

Building PulseLab.
For the Polar Verity Sense, with a heart rate Rebound Score.
The app gets data straight off the band with Polar’s open SDK, records and logs my workouts, shows live activity while I train.

@claudeai @PolarGlobal

[PowerA Gaming @PowerA]

Something big is in the works, and we can finally share the news!

We joined forces with @MeridianGMT to develop the Project X-Ray Flight Deck Wireless Controller.

Project X-Ray is in active development, but you can sign up for updates! We'll reach out the moment it lands.

[CRED @CRED_club]

owe nothing to memory.

[𝓓𝓸𝓬_𝔃𝓮𝓮 ✧ @doc_zee7]

Me refusing to sleep because i didn't get enough time to feel like human after work

[Rahul Rao @out_oflux]

hmmm, so it was a maintenance update

[Rahul Rao @out_oflux]

@gow88_ 🤝🚀

[Rahul Rao @out_oflux]

@lucifer_x007

[CRED @CRED_club]

in plain sight.