Mirae Asset Venture India, the private investment arm of South Korea–headquartered Mirae Asset Financial Group, has named Puneet Kumar as its new chief executive officer. Kumar takes over from Ashish Dave, who stepped down from the role in mid-2025, and will now oversee the firm’s venture capital and private investing operations in India at a time of renewed focus on technology-led investments.
In his new position, Kumar will be responsible for refining Mirae Asset Venture India’s investment strategy, strengthening ties with the group’s global venture platforms, and reinforcing the firm’s role as a long-term partner for founders and co-investors. The company said the appointment reflects its intent to deepen its presence in India’s fast-evolving startup ecosystem while aligning more closely with Mirae Asset’s global investment priorities.
Mirae Asset Venture India backs companies across technology platforms, consumer businesses, artificial intelligence, and deep technology. Its Indian portfolio includes well-known startups such as stock trading app Dhan, ecommerce grocery major BigBasket, logistics platform Shadowfax, social media company ShareChat, and fintech firm KreditBee. As of November 30, 2025, the firm’s private investing business in India managed over ₹1,477 crore in assets across two Category II Alternative Investment Funds. Globally, Mirae Asset’s venture capital arm oversees approximately $4.4 billion in assets under management.
Kumar’s appointment comes as Mirae Asset ramps up its India-focused technology exposure. Recently, South Korean gaming giant Krafton announced the launch of an India-dedicated technology fund in partnership with internet conglomerate Naver and Mirae Asset. A significant portion of that fund is expected to be managed by the Mirae Asset Venture Investments team in India, underscoring the strategic importance of the local platform.
Before joining Mirae Asset Venture India, Kumar served as managing director at Steadview Capital, a global technology-focused hedge fund with more than $3 billion in assets under management. During his tenure, Steadview invested in over 30 private companies, including Eternal (formerly Zomato), Nykaa, Freshworks, Innovaccer, Chargebee, Ultrahuman, Atomberg, and MoEngage. Nine companies from its private portfolio went public during this period. Steadview’s broader technology investments included Dream11, Unacademy, Ola, Urban Company, PolicyBazaar, Lenskart, Zenoti, INDmoney, and Zetwerk.
Earlier in his career, Kumar was a vice president at Nexus Venture Partners between 2017 and 2019, where he worked on investments across SaaS, consumer, agritech, gaming, and new-age consumer sectors, including Observe.ai, Rapido, Pando, Squadcast, Maximl, LiveHealth, and Intello Labs.
