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Krafton, the South Korean gaming company behind hit titles such as PUBG and Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI), is launching a growth investment fund focused on India, stepping up its push into the world\u2019s largest internet user base.<\/p>\n
Called the Unicorn Growth Fund, the investment vehicle is a collaboration between Krafton and South Korean internet conglomerate Naver, and investor Mirae Asset. It aims to deploy up to ?60 billion (around $669.3 million) over four years, Krafton confirmed to TechCrunch.<\/p>\n
The fund, which will be managed by Mirae Asset Venture India, is expected to be established in January and begin operations with an initial size of more than ?30 billion (about $334.6 million). Krafton will contribute ?12.3 billion (approximately $137.2 million) at the first close, the company said.<\/p>\n
Naver\u2019s capital commitment is expected to be \u201cbroadly comparable\u201d to Krafton\u2019s $137 million investment, a Krafton spokesperson told TechCrunch. The fund will not operate with rigid country-allocation thresholds, and typical investment sizes are expected to range between $10 million and $30 million, the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
Krafton said investments through the new fund would primarily be treated as financial positions rather than strategic bets, though the level of engagement with portfolio companies could vary depending on the opportunity and long-term potential of each business.<\/p>\n
To date, Krafton has invested more than $200 million in India, backing companies in the gaming, content and fintech spaces. Recent investments include fintech Cashfree<\/a> and venture fund IMM Investment<\/a>, alongside earlier bets on gaming and content platforms<\/a> such as Nodwin Gaming, Loco, Pratilipi, and Kuku FM. The company also launched a gaming incubator<\/a> in India in 2023, and acquired a controlling stake<\/a> in Indian gaming studio Nautilus Mobile for $14 million earlier this year.<\/p>\n Krafton\u2019s expansion in India has not been without setbacks. New Delhi banned BGMI<\/a>, the company\u2019s flagship local title, in 2022, before allowing it to return in 2023 following a three-month trial approval<\/a>. Krafton subsequently announced a $150 million investment commitment<\/a> in the country.<\/p>\n Techcrunch event<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSan Francisco<\/span> BGMI, which has surpassed 240 million downloads, launched in 2021 as a revamped, localized version<\/a> of PUBG Mobile, another popular title that was banned by the Indian government in mid-2020<\/a> over national security concerns. Since then, Krafton has made a series of operational changes in the country \u2014 including cutting ties with Tencent as its publisher and migrating its India servers to Microsoft\u2019s Azure cloud \u2014 to address regulatory concerns.<\/p>\n With the new fund, Krafton is looking to extend its India strategy beyond gaming, channeling capital into a wider set of technology startups as it seeks to build a long-term presence in one of Asia\u2019s fastest-growing digital markets.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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