The fund, called the Unicorn Growth Fund, will kick off with an initial corpus of ₹3,000 crore in January 2026, with aspirations to expand to the full ₹6,000 crore gradually. Krafton India CEO Sean Hyunil Sohn discussed this initiative in an interview with Moneycontrol, presenting the fund as a long-term strategy for investing in India’s innovation-driven economy.
In this structure, Krafton and Naver will act as limited partners, each pledging approximately ₹1,230 crore (around 200 billion won). Mirae Asset Venture India will manage the Korea-domiciled fund and will also contribute capital, albeit in a somewhat smaller amount, while leveraging its expertise in local investment and portfolio management.
The fund will primarily target “soonicorns,” rapidly growing startups approaching unicorn status in various sectors such as artificial intelligence, fintech, digital content (including gaming), logistics, and other innovation-focused areas. Sohn emphasized that the fund’s sector focus will intentionally remain adaptable. “AI is set to revolutionize multiple sectors in the coming one to two years; therefore, we wish for the fund’s focus to stay flexible,” he remarked, noting that new sectors may emerge as technology adoption progresses.
While the fund is set to evaluate technology companies across Asia, India will be its main focus. This builds upon the earlier collaboration between Mirae Asset and Naver, which created the $853 million Mirae Asset-Naver Asia Growth Fund in 2018, supporting Indian firms like Zomato, Bigbasket, Shadowfax, ShareChat, and KreditBee. Naver has also invested in Pocket FM.
On its part, Krafton has invested over $200 million in the Indian market since 2021, spanning gaming, esports, and consumer technology, backing companies such as JetSynthesys, Nodwin Gaming, Pratilipi, Kuku FM, and Cashfree. Sohn mentioned that Krafton plans to continue investing around $50 million annually in India, with the new fund acting as a complement to, rather than a replacement for, direct investments from its balance sheet.
In addition to its investments, Krafton is broadening its operational reach. Earlier this year, it secured a majority stake in Pune-based Nautilus Mobile, the studio responsible for the Real Cricket franchise, and has since assumed the title’s publishing duties. However, Sohn clarified that Krafton is not currently considering investments in IPL teams amid ongoing market speculation.
