Cred (company)

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Last edited April 8, 2026


For other uses, see Cred (disambiguation).

Dreamplug Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
CRED
Industry
Founded2018; 8 years ago (2018)
Founder(s)Kunal Shah
(Founder & CEO)
HeadquartersBangalore, Karnataka,
India
RevenueIncrease ₹2,473 crore (US$350 million) (FY24)[2]
Template:Negative increase ₹−1,644 crore (US$−230 million) (FY24)[2]
Number of employees
800
Websitecred.club

Dreamplug Technologies Pvt. Ltd., doing business as CRED, is an Indian fintech company, based in Bangalore.[3][4][5] Founded in 2018 by Kunal Shah,[6][7] it is a reward-based credit card payments app.[8] CRED also allows users to make house rent payments[9] and provides short-term credit lines.[10]

As of 2022, the company was valued at around $6.4 billion.[11]

History[edit | edit source]

Cred was started in 2018 by Kunal Shah. Cred posted losses of ₹360.31 crore in fiscal year 2020,[12] caused primarily due to high expenditure on marketing and advertising.[13] By 2021, the company reported having 5.9 million users.[14]

In 2021, Cred acquired expense management startup Happay and a liquor delivery startup HipBar.[15] 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.[15]

In July 2023, Cred acquired savings and investment platform Spenny.[16] In February 2024, Cred acquired online wealth management and mutual funds startup Kuvera for an undisclosed amount.[17]

In June 2024, Cred reported having 13 million monthly active users (MAUs). Its market share in UPI transaction volume was 1% in 2024.[14]

In November 2024, the company sold Happay to MakeMyTrip for an undisclosed amount.[18]

Funding[edit | edit source]

Cred raised funding from DST Global,[19] Sequoia Capital (India),[20][21] and Tiger Global,[22] among other investors, through the four rounds of private funding so far.[23]

In October 2021, Cred started to seek new investors, reporting a $5.5 billion valuation, up from $2.2 billion recorded in April 2021.[24][25]

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.[26]

Investor Transaction name Fund raised[27] 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

Marketing and reception[edit | edit source]

Cred became the official sponsor for the Indian Premier League for four years from 2020 to 2023.[28] In 2021, Cred's advertising content and videos, made in-house featuring Indian celebrities,[29][30][31] generated significant discourse in news and social media[32][33][34][35] due to its peculiarity, which was both criticized[36] and praised.[37] Cred has received criticism for being overvalued and lacking a sound monetization strategy.[38][39]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Anupam, Suprita (28 August 2024). "CRED's Super App Revenue Stack". Inc42. Retrieved 12 October 2025.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "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. ↑ Singh, Manish (9 June 2022). "India's CRED valued at $6.4 billion in new funding". TechCrunch. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  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. ↑ 14.0 14.1 J, Anand (11 June 2024). "Cred's new-user growth by 2024". Moneycontrol.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 "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. ↑ Shekhar, Roshni (18 November 2024). "MakeMyTrip to acquire Happay's expense management platform from CRED". Business Standard. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  19. ↑ "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.
  20. ↑ "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.
  21. ↑ Srikanth, Chandra R (6 April 2021). "Cred Turns Unicorn, Raises $215 Million At A Valuation Of $2.2 Billion". Moneycontrol. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  22. ↑ "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.
  23. ↑ "India's CRED in talks to raise $200 million at $2 billion valuation". TechCrunch. 15 March 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  24. ↑ Singh, Manesh (11 October 2021). "Indian fintech CRED seeks funds at $5.5 billion valuation". TechCrunch. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  25. ↑ Manikandan, Ashwin. "Cred's valuation soars to $2.2 billion after fresh funding". The Economic Times. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  26. ↑ Ritu, Singh (27 May 2025). "CRED eyes $75 million fresh funding led by GIC amid 45% valuation drop". cnbctv18. Retrieved 27 May 2025.
  27. ↑ "Exclusive: CRED in talks to raise funding, eyes $6.5 bn valuation". Moneycontrol. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  28. ↑ "After Unacademy, Cred Joins IPL 2020 As Official Partner". Inc42 Media. 2 September 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  29. ↑ www.ETBrandEquity.com. "CRED launches 90s inspired multi-film campaign featuring Anil Kapoor – ET BrandEquity". ETBrandEquity.com. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  30. ↑ Bhatt, Shephali. "Who made Bappi Da sing love ballads for credit cards?". The Economic Times. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  31. ↑ 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.
  32. ↑ "Is self-ridicule the new ad formula?". Deccan Herald. 7 November 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  33. ↑ "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.
  34. ↑ www.ETBrandEquity.com. "Jim Sarbh engages with audience in Cred's new ad film – ET BrandEquity". ETBrandEquity.com. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  35. ↑ "CRED in the Indian Premier League (IPL): sixer or hit wicket?". The Ken. 14 October 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  36. ↑ www.ETBrandEquity.com. "Opinion: First you pay them, then you mock them? – ET BrandEquity". ETBrandEquity.com. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  37. ↑ "CRED… not everyone gets it: A copywriter's take". afaqs!. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  38. ↑ Dalal, Mihir (4 February 2021). "Forgive us for asking, but what's Cred's business model?". mint. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  39. ↑ "Worth $806 mn, Cred's Rs 52-lakh revenue sparks valuation, business model debate". cnbctv18.com. 8 February 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2021.

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