Internet giant Naver, along with Krafton and Mirae Asset Group, has established a 700 billion-won ($476.4 million) investment fund to support firms in India’s AI, fintech, and content industries. The Unicorn Growth Fund (UGF) was unveiled at an event in New Delhi attended by Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan, Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon, Krafton CEO Kim Chang-han, and Mirae Asset Investment Managers India Vice Chairman Swarup Mohanty. Initially initiated by Krafton with a 200 billion-won investment, Naver and Mirae Asset later joined in with a combined 500 billion won, with plans to expand the fund to 1 trillion won.
Naver stated that the fund’s objective is to invest in promising tech companies in India focusing on AI, fintech, and content sectors. Choi emphasized India’s growing significance in the global digital innovation landscape due to its IT talent and startup ecosystem. She highlighted that the UGF will play a crucial role in backing high-growth tech enterprises and leveraging the strengths of the three companies.
Additionally, Naver inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the IT arm of India’s Tata Group, to explore business prospects in India. The agreement, signed during a South Korea-India business forum in New Delhi, involved Naver, TCS, and key officials from both countries. The collaboration aims to harness AI, cloud, and B2C services to pursue opportunities in AI and digital transformation, particularly focusing on the Indian market.
