What is the story about?
South Korean gaming major Krafton is doubling down on India’s startup ecosystem by teaming up with Naver and Mirae Asset to launch a ₹6,000 crore India-focused investment vehicle aimed at backing high-growth technology companies on the cusp of unicorn status.
The fund, named the Unicorn Growth Fund, will begin operations with an initial corpus of ₹3,000 crore in January 2026, with plans to scale up to the full ₹6,000 crore over time. Krafton India CEO Sean Hyunil Sohn shared the development in an interview with Moneycontrol, positioning the fund as a long-term bet on India’s innovation economy.
Under the structure, Krafton and Naver will come in as limited partners, committing roughly ₹1,230 crore each (around 200 billion won). Mirae Asset Venture India will manage the Korea-domiciled fund and will also contribute capital, albeit a slightly smaller amount, while bringing its on-ground investment and portfolio management expertise to the table.
The fund’s core focus will be on “soonicorns”, fast-scaling startups nearing unicorn valuation across sectors such as artificial intelligence, fintech, digital content including gaming, logistics, and other innovation-led domains. Sohn said the fund’s sectoral lens will remain deliberately flexible. “AI will transform many sectors over the next one to two years, hence we want the focus area of this fund to remain flexible,” he noted, adding that new sectors could be added as technology adoption evolves.
While the fund will look at technology companies across Asia, India will remain its primary market. This builds on Mirae Asset and Naver’s earlier collaboration through the $853 million Mirae Asset-Naver Asia Growth Fund launched in 2018, which has backed Indian startups such as Zomato, Bigbasket, Shadowfax, ShareChat and KreditBee. Naver has also invested in Pocket FM.
Krafton, meanwhile, has invested over $200 million in India since 2021 across gaming, esports and consumer tech, backing firms such as JetSynthesys, Nodwin Gaming, Pratilipi, Kuku FM and Cashfree. Sohn said Krafton will continue investing around $50 million annually in India, with the new fund complementing, not replacing direct balance-sheet investments.
Beyond investing, Krafton is expanding its operational footprint. Earlier this year, it acquired a majority stake in Pune-based Nautilus Mobile, the studio behind the Real Cricket franchise, and has since taken over publishing of the title. However, Sohn clarified that Krafton is not currently exploring investments in IPL teams, despite market speculation.
The fund, named the Unicorn Growth Fund, will begin operations with an initial corpus of ₹3,000 crore in January 2026, with plans to scale up to the full ₹6,000 crore over time. Krafton India CEO Sean Hyunil Sohn shared the development in an interview with Moneycontrol, positioning the fund as a long-term bet on India’s innovation economy.
Under the structure, Krafton and Naver will come in as limited partners, committing roughly ₹1,230 crore each (around 200 billion won). Mirae Asset Venture India will manage the Korea-domiciled fund and will also contribute capital, albeit a slightly smaller amount, while bringing its on-ground investment and portfolio management expertise to the table.
The fund’s core focus will be on “soonicorns”, fast-scaling startups nearing unicorn valuation across sectors such as artificial intelligence, fintech, digital content including gaming, logistics, and other innovation-led domains. Sohn said the fund’s sectoral lens will remain deliberately flexible. “AI will transform many sectors over the next one to two years, hence we want the focus area of this fund to remain flexible,” he noted, adding that new sectors could be added as technology adoption evolves.
While the fund will look at technology companies across Asia, India will remain its primary market. This builds on Mirae Asset and Naver’s earlier collaboration through the $853 million Mirae Asset-Naver Asia Growth Fund launched in 2018, which has backed Indian startups such as Zomato, Bigbasket, Shadowfax, ShareChat and KreditBee. Naver has also invested in Pocket FM.
Krafton, meanwhile, has invested over $200 million in India since 2021 across gaming, esports and consumer tech, backing firms such as JetSynthesys, Nodwin Gaming, Pratilipi, Kuku FM and Cashfree. Sohn said Krafton will continue investing around $50 million annually in India, with the new fund complementing, not replacing direct balance-sheet investments.
Beyond investing, Krafton is expanding its operational footprint. Earlier this year, it acquired a majority stake in Pune-based Nautilus Mobile, the studio behind the Real Cricket franchise, and has since taken over publishing of the title. However, Sohn clarified that Krafton is not currently exploring investments in IPL teams, despite market speculation.
