Puneet Kumar, a former MD of Steadview Capital, is named CEO of Mirae Asset Venture India

Mirae Asset Venture India appoints Puneet Kumar as CEO

Mirae Asset Venture India, the private investment arm of South Korea–based Mirae Asset Financial Group, has appointed Puneet Kumar as its new chief executive officer, the company said in a statement.

Kumar was previously the managing director at Steadview Capital. He takes over from Ashish Dave, who stepped down from the role in mid-2025.

Mirae Asset Venture India has invested in several well-known startups including Dhan, BigBasket, Shadowfax and ShareChat. The firm is now looking to expand investments across sectors such as consumer businesses, artificial intelligence and deeptech.

The appointment comes as Mirae Asset strengthens its India strategy. Recently, South Korean gaming company Krafton announced an India-focused technology fund in partnership with Naver and Mirae Asset. The company said a significant portion of this fund will be managed by Mirae Asset Venture’s India team.

“As CEO, Puneet Kumar will focus on sharpening the firm’s investment strategy, strengthening collaboration with Mirae Asset’s global venture platforms, and building stronger partnerships with founders and co-investors in India,” the company said.

As of November 30, 2025, Mirae Asset Venture’s private investment business in India managed assets worth over ₹1,477 crore across two investment vehicles. The firm said it plans to scale up its India operations in the coming years.

Strong investing track record

During his time at Steadview Capital, Kumar led or worked on investments in more than 30 private companies, including Zomato (now Eternal), Nykaa, Freshworks, Innovaccer, Chargebee, Ultrahuman, Atomberg and MoEngage. Nine companies from Steadview’s portfolio went public during this period.

Before joining Steadview in 2019, Kumar was a vice president at Nexus Venture Partners, where he worked with startups such as Observe.ai, Moveinsync and ride-hailing platform Rapido.

Part of broader VC leadership churn

Kumar’s appointment comes amid significant leadership movement across India’s venture capital industry over the past year. Several senior investors have exited their firms, including Shailesh Lakhani, Abheek Anand and Harshjit Sethi at Peak XV Partners, Kabir Narang at B Capital, Pranay Desai at Z47, and Priya Mohan at General Catalyst.

Other senior executives have also switched firms, such as Pankaj Mitra, who moved from Cisco Investments to Bessemer Venture Partners, and Vikram Kumaraswamy, who joined L Catterton as partner and co-head for India.