Mirae Asset Venture India has appointed Puneet Kumar as its new chief executive officer, marking a leadership change at the private investing arm of South Korea’s Mirae Asset Financial Group. The appointment follows the exit of Ashish Dave, who stepped down from the role in mid-2025.
In his new position, Kumar will be responsible for overseeing the firm’s venture capital and private investment operations in India. His mandate includes refining investment strategy, strengthening ties with Mirae Asset’s global venture teams, and building deeper relationships with founders and co-investors in the Indian market.
The firm said the leadership transition comes as it continues to expand its presence in India’s technology and consumer sectors. Mirae Asset Venture India currently backs companies across technology platforms, consumer businesses, artificial intelligence and deep technology.
India Investment Focus
Mirae Asset Venture India manages more than Rs 1,477 crore in assets under management across two Category II Alternative Investment Funds, as of November 30, 2025. At a global level, the group’s venture capital arm oversees assets worth about $4.4 billion.
Its Indian portfolio includes a range of late-stage and growth companies such as stock-trading app Dhan, online grocery platform BigBasket, logistics firm Shadowfax, social media company ShareChat and fintech lender KreditBee. The firm has remained active in backing businesses with large domestic user bases and scalable technology models.
The appointment also coincides with a broader push by Mirae Asset to increase exposure to India-focused technology investments. Recently, South Korean gaming company Krafton announced the launch of an India-focused technology fund in partnership with Naver and Mirae Asset.
Global Collaboration Plans
A significant portion of the Krafton-led fund is expected to be managed by the Mirae Asset Venture Investments team in India. This development underlines the growing role of the Indian platform within the group’s global venture investing strategy.
Before joining Mirae Asset Venture India, Kumar served as managing director at Steadview Capital, a global technology-focused hedge fund with assets under management exceeding $3 billion. During his tenure, Steadview invested in more than 30 private companies across India and overseas markets.
Several of these portfolio companies later went public, reflecting Steadview’s focus on late-stage technology and consumer businesses. Investments during this period included companies such as Eternal, earlier known as Zomato, Nykaa, Freshworks, Innovaccer, Chargebee, Ultrahuman, Atomberg and MoEngage.
Previous Experience
Steadview’s broader technology portfolio also spans well-known Indian startups such as Dream11, Unacademy, Ola, Urban Company, PolicyBazaar, Lenskart, Zenoti, INDmoney and Zetwerk. Kumar was involved in evaluating and managing several of these investments.
Prior to his stint at Steadview Capital, Kumar worked as a vice president at Nexus Venture Partners between 2017 and 2019. At Nexus, he focused on early and growth-stage investments across sectors including software-as-a-service, consumer internet, agritech, gaming and emerging consumer brands.
Companies associated with his work during that period include Observe.ai, Rapido, Pando, Squadcast, Maximl, LiveHealth and Intello Labs. His experience spans both private equity-style investing and venture capital across multiple stages.
With this appointment, Mirae Asset Venture India is expected to sharpen its leadership structure as competition for quality technology deals intensifies. The firm’s continued focus on India reflects sustained interest from global investors in the country’s startup and innovation ecosystem.
