For Krafton, India is no longer just a large gaming market; it is becoming a long-term capital destination.
The South Korean company, best known locally for Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI), is preparing to anchor a large, India-focused growth investment platform alongside Naver and Mirae Asset. Internally referred to as the Unicorn Growth Fund, the vehicle is designed to deploy up to ₹6,000 crore over the next four years, marking one of Krafton’s most decisive financial commitments to the Indian startup ecosystem so far.
The fund is expected to begin operations in January 2026 and will be managed by Mirae Asset Venture India, signalling an institutional, India-first execution strategy rather than a satellite corporate venture arm.
Krafton: From publisher to capital allocator
Krafton’s evolution in India has been gradual but deliberate. What began as a publishing-led presence anchored around BGMI has expanded into a broader investment thesis spanning gaming, fintech, creator platforms and consumer internet businesses.
Over the last few years, the company has already deployed more than $200 million in India, backing firms such as Cashfree Payments, Nodwin Gaming, Kuku FM, Pratilipi, Loco, Shuru, and acquiring a controlling stake in Nautilus Mobile, the studio behind Real Cricket. It has also set up a gaming incubator in India, aimed at nurturing early-stage studios and local intellectual property.
The Unicorn Growth Fund marks a scaling and motivational shift. Unlike the previous Krafton investments in India, which were known to have strategizing and ecosystem creation as motivations together, the current fund has been designed as a growth stage investment vehicle, where the cheques are expected to lie in the bracket of $10 million to $30 million.
Importantly, the fund is not bound by strict country allocations, allowing the managers to follow opportunities regardless of the geography. However, the focus is clear, India is the center of gravity.
Who’s putting in the money?
At the initial stage, the fund is expected to start with over ₹3,000 crore, with Krafton committing ₹1,230 crore (approximately $137 million) as an anchor investor. Naver’s contribution is expected to be of a similar scale, while Mirae Asset brings both capital and on-ground fund management capabilities through its Indian venture arm.
The structure places the fund closer to a traditional growth equity platform than a strategic corporate fund, an important distinction at a time when Indian startups are increasingly selective about their cap tables.
Why India, and why now?
Krafton’s deeper capital push comes against the backdrop of a complicated but maturing India story.
BGMI, which launched in 2021 as a localized alternative to PUBG Mobile, has crossed 240 million downloads, underscoring the sheer scale of Krafton’s consumer reach in the country.
The game’s temporary ban in 2022 and its return in 2023 under a monitored framework, also forced the company to rework its India operations, including changes to publishing partnerships and data infrastructure.
Rather than retreat, Krafton appears to have used that period to recalibrate. The result is a strategy that reduces dependence on a single product and increases exposure to India’s wider digital economy, payments, content, esports, community platforms and mobile-first consumer businesses.
The Unicorn Growth Fund fits squarely into this recalibration. It allows Krafton to participate in India’s next wave of scaled startups without tying every investment to gaming synergies.
What this signals for the ecosystem?
The fund represents an additional large, patient source of growth capital for Indian founders, who are facing selectiveness in late-stage funding. In contrast to the opportunistic short cycles, the four-year investment period indicates prudence, aligning with long-term value creation rather than quick exits.
Krafton, though, has one thing to learn here: India is not a tactical market anymore; rather, it has become a strategic pillar. The company wants to showcase not only that it’s a gaming giant all over the world, counting Indians among its users, but that it’s an active participant in the startup ecosystem in India.
With the proposed debut of the ‘Unicorn Growth Fund’ on the horizon, comes a rather significant and subtle shift, where one of the biggest gaming players in the world believes that India’s biggest stars might emerge well away from its gaming screens.
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