Krafton, the South Korean gaming company known for hits like PUBG and Battlegrounds Mobile India, is launching a growth investment fund focused on India. This move significantly expands its push into the world’s largest internet user base. Named the Unicorn Growth Fund, this investment vehicle is a collaboration between Krafton, the South Korean internet conglomerate Naver, and investor Mirae Asset. It aims to deploy up to 60 billion Indian rupees, approximately 669.3 million US dollars, over the next four years.
The fund will be managed by Mirae Asset Venture India and is expected to be formally established in January. It will begin operations with an initial size of more than 30 billion rupees, about 334.6 million dollars. Krafton will contribute 12.3 billion rupees, roughly 137.2 million dollars, at the first close. Naver’s capital commitment is expected to be broadly comparable to Krafton’s 137 million dollar investment. The fund will not operate with rigid country-allocation thresholds, and typical investment sizes are anticipated to range between 10 and 30 million dollars.
Krafton stated that investments through this new fund will primarily be treated as financial positions rather than strategic bets. However, the level of engagement with portfolio companies may vary depending on the opportunity and the long-term potential of each business.
To date, Krafton has invested more than 200 million dollars in India, backing companies in gaming, content, and fintech. Recent investments include the fintech firm Cashfree and the venture fund IMM Investment. Earlier bets include gaming and content platforms such as Nodwin Gaming, Loco, Pratilipi, and Kuku FM. The company also launched a gaming incubator in India in 2023 and acquired a controlling stake in Indian gaming studio Nautilus Mobile for 14 million dollars earlier this year.
Krafton’s expansion in India has experienced setbacks. New Delhi banned its flagship local title, BGMI, in 2022 before allowing it to return in 2023 following a three-month trial approval. Krafton subsequently announced a 150 million dollar investment commitment in the country.
BGMI, which has surpassed 240 million downloads, launched in 2021 as a revamped and localized version of PUBG Mobile. The original PUBG Mobile was banned by the Indian government in mid-2020 over national security concerns. Since then, Krafton has made several operational changes, including cutting ties with Tencent as its publisher and migrating its India servers to Microsoft’s Azure cloud, to address regulatory concerns.
With this new fund, Krafton is looking to extend its India strategy beyond gaming. The company aims to channel capital into a wider set of technology startups as it seeks to build a long-term presence in one of Asia’s fastest-growing digital markets.