South Korean gaming firm Krafton is partnering with Naver and Mirae Asset to arrange an India-focused funding fund aimed primarily at backing growth-stage tech startups.

The fund, titled the KRAFTON-NAVER-MIRAEASSET Unicorn Development Funding Fund, will goal a corpus of as much as Rs 6,000 crore and place India on the centre of its Asia funding technique.

Structured as a large-scale progress fund, the Unicorn Development Fund will again main know-how firms throughout Asia, with a transparent emphasis on India’s quickly increasing startup ecosystem.

The fund is at present being readied for launch and is anticipated to start operations in January 2026. It is going to be managed by Mirae Asset Enterprise India.

KRAFTON will anchor the car with an preliminary dedication of Rs 1,230 crore. Together with contributions from NAVER, Mirae Asset and exterior traders, the fund is anticipated to begin operations with a complete measurement of over Rs 3,000 crore, with scope to scale as much as the total Rs 6,000 crore goal.

The initiative builds on KRAFTON’s rising footprint in India, the place it has invested greater than $200 million since 2021 throughout gaming and digital startups. Its Indian portfolio consists of hyperlocal group platform Shuru, fintech agency Cashfree Funds, and recreation studio Nautilus Cell, through which it acquired a controlling stake. Earlier investments additionally span firms comparable to Nodwin Gaming, Loco, Kuku FM and Pratilipi.

Battlegrounds Cell India (BGMI) has performed a central function in strengthening KRAFTON’s presence within the nation, recording a whole bunch of hundreds of thousands of downloads and contributing considerably to the expansion of India’s cell gaming ecosystem.

In August 2023, KRAFTON had introduced plans to deploy $150 million over two to 3 years into Indian gaming and leisure startups, with a give attention to early-stage studios, esports platforms and multimedia content material ventures.

“This collaboration amongst Korea’s main firms will generate significant synergies,” stated Sean (Hyunil) Sohn, CEO of KRAFTON India. “Our participation on this fund goals to find sustainable companies in India that create social and financial worth along with gaming. By exploring funding alternatives throughout a number of sectors, we plan to place ourselves as a model trusted by its folks.”

Choi In-hyuk, President of NAVER Tech Enterprise, stated the partnership displays NAVER’s rising engagement with the Indian market. “We’re happy to pursue a strategic collaboration with KRAFTON, which has constructed a powerful basis within the Indian market. Leveraging NAVER’s platform, content material and AI capabilities, we goal to collectively help the invention of progressive Indian firms and contribute to the enlargement of the native know-how ecosystem,” he stated.