According to Moneycontrol, informed sources reveal that India currently contributes more than half of whatsApp ‘ s global income, which exceeds $1 billion annually, mainly through business information operations.
As one of the largest user markets for the WhatsApp, India has become the core position of Meta to realize the most widely used global instantaneous communications platform. India has been at the forefront of the global pay-as-you-go telecommunications market as a key engine of growth for whatsApp commercial services. It is understood that Meta will appoint Kunal Shah, founder of the Indian financial science and technology unicorn company Cred, to lead the WhatsApp global business.
WhatsApp has more than 3 billion months of active users globally, but its commercialization process is still at an early stage compared to other products under Meta, such as Facebook and Instagram. Of these, over 500 million are in India.
Meta does not usually disclose income from individual applications. However, at a teleconference in the financial paper last January, Meta executives indicated that whatsApp’s pay-for-information business achieved an annualized revenue of over $2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025.
In 2025, Meta reported an application family advertising revenue of 1962 billion dollars, including Facebook and Instagram. The company’s “serial application of other income” category (including WhatsApp paid news and subscription income) earned $2.6 billion a year.
Kunal Shah’s appointment may herald a new chapter in the WhatsApp, as Meta seeks to expand the commercial potential of the message and advance its goal of providing “personal super-intelligence” to each user.
“Meta wants to integrate business more closely with WhatsApp, so that users can interact with all business in chat interfaces. They believe that the bets on Kunal Shah can achieve this, particularly in India and other developing markets.”
Meta indicated that income would not be broken down by country, although it also indicated “excited by business growth” and “the possibility of Meta Business release”.
Meta Business Agent was launched earlier this month to allow businesses to set up AI agents to help businesses respond to customers around the clock, obtain potential customers, book, recommend products and facilitate sales.
