Krafton’s CI (Photo courtesy of Krafton)
Krafton announced on Dec. 19 that it will form a fund worth up to 1 trillion won with Naver and Mirae Asset Group.
According to Krafton, the fund jointly created by the three companies is named the “Krafton-Naver-Mirae Asset Unicorn Growth Fund.” It will invest in major Asian technology companies in Korea and India. Krafton, which has invested a cumulative $200 million (approximately 295 billion won) in India’s digital entertainment market, plans to organically collaborate with Naver, which has expertise in platform and artificial intelligence (AI) sectors, and Mirae Asset, which possesses capital management capabilities and networks.
The three companies plan to establish this fund in January next year. Krafton will contribute 200 billion won as initial investment. Combined with investments from the three companies and external investors, operations are scheduled to begin with a scale of over 500 billion won. Major subsidiaries of Mirae Asset Group will also participate.
This fund is a follow-up project to the “Asia Growth Fund” jointly established by Naver and Mirae Asset in 2018. Through this fund, Naver and Mirae Asset have previously invested in promising local companies including Zomato, India’s top delivery and commerce platform, Grab, Southeast Asia’s largest mobility platform, and ShareChat, India’s leading social media platform.
Son Hyun-il, CEO of Krafton India, said, “We expect that collaboration with companies leading in each field will bring meaningful synergy,” adding, “This fund participation is aimed at discovering sustainable businesses that create social and economic value as well as games in India.”
Choi In-hyuk, CEO of Naver Tech Business, said, “Based on Naver’s platform, content, and AI capabilities, we will contribute together to discovering innovative companies in India and expanding the technology ecosystem.”
