Kunal Shah on Wealth in the AI era

Kunal Shah recently announced on X that he was taking a back seat in CRED to head WhatsApp Global. Meta also invested $900 million into CRED.

He spoke at the Groww India Investor Festival 2026 in May 2026. This video was posted on their YouTube channel a few days back.

If you assume that you do not have much control over the environment we are in today, then you should consider these points.

Below are a few pointers from that talk:

• Internet made information accessible. AI made intelligence accessible.
• The largest employer in the world is inefficiency. The pace at which inefficiency is reducing is accelerating.
• People are worried about job lay-offs. But, people must be equally if not more worried about per capita income not growing.
• There is a big and increasing difference between people who use technology and who does not use technology. He gives the example of an auto rickshaw driver plying with and without technology. He claims that the driver who uses technology, he earns more.
• People wait for corporations and governments to teach them about AI.
• People must learn AI themselves. Everything is available. Bulk of the people use AI for frivolous use case (editing pictures and videos, talking to ChatGPT as a friend while getting rid of real friends, therapy, and astrology).
• The most valuable wealth you have is time. How one spends the time is becoming more critical now.
• We do not value time in India. For example, he states that there are no words for productivity and efficiency in Indian languages other than compound words.
• Time is a post-industrial age concept whose importance India has not understood. Since Indians are not paid in hours, Indians think in months and not hours.
• Shah claims that Indian internet usage is 35 GB per capita per month. It is extremely easy to waste time.
• India has two extreme modes – panic or apathy. No modes in the middle.
• Individuals must create a mission-mindset to think what we need to ride this wave. The time needed to do something or learn something has shrunk.
• India has not built resilient industries.
• India must increase participation of women in the workforce to increase the per capita income.
• Individuals cannot say that they are not good with technology. Individuals must not make excuses. Do not take short cuts to success. Instead, build substance in yourself to become wealthy. Substance requires sacrifice.
• Indians must become significantly more ambitious, more skilful, and understand things.
• Notice that pain and struggle preceeds success. Removing that struggle makes success more difficult.
• Privileged people need to take more risk. For example, if nothing failure as an entrepreneur can make you a great employee.
• It is now possible to 10x your income.
• You are the average of the 5 people you hang out with.
• Protection by regulation will make India less globally competitive.
• 90% of the code written by AI in CRED. 10% of the people in tech companies are infinitely ahead of 90% of the people because of the use of technology. These are the 10x people.
• Final words on getting rich in the AI era:
  • Get extraordinary at learning.
  • Think of the people you are surrounded by. Think in terms of XIRR.
  • Think of yourself in terms of XIRR. Increase your XIRR.
  • Think of yourself as an app. Fix your bugs, make your features better, and ship constantly.
  • Learn tech from younger people. Learn values from older people.
  • Be extraordinarily adaptable.
  • Don’t waste your time at events.