On Tuesday, Noida-based merchant platform Pine Labs announced the appointment of CRED Founder Kunal Shah to its board ahead of the company’s preparations for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) in the United States.
Before CRED, Freecharge was founded by Shah in 2010 where he served as the CEO till Snapdeal purchased the firm for $450 million in 2015.
The appointment comes a month after the company closed its latest funding round at $600 million led by Fidelity Management and Research Co., BlackRock, Ishana as well as Tree Line.
Previously, Mint had reported that the startup was expecting to raise another round of funding before the end of 2021 as it gears up for its public debut.
Pine Lab’s CEO, B. Amrish Rao, added, “We are excited to welcome Kunal to our board. He joins a marquee set of investors, advisors, and other visionary board members who are all committed to taking Pine Labs to newer heights.”
He continued saying that Shah’s deep understanding of the consumer business would be invaluable to them as they are exploring fresh opportunities along with stepping into the company’s next phase of growth.
“The pandemic has catalysed behaviour change among consumers, merchants, and institutions that will drive the fintech sector. Shaping this transformation for the benefit of all stakeholders is a collective responsibility”, said the founder of CRED, Kunal Shah.
Shah referred to Pine Labs as a player in digital systems adoption and said that joining the board was an opportunity to contribute to the ecosystem.