Mixi backs India as emerging mkts outpace Japan's growth

Japan-based mobile entertainment major Mixi set up an India-focused corporate venture capital arm earlier this month, its first such fund outside the home market.

- Aman Rawat

With an initial corpus of $50 million (around ₹415 crore), Mixi's vehicle will look to invest in 30 Indian gaming and entertainment companies over the next three to four years.

Mixi's penetration in Indian online gaming and entertainment market comes at a time when the industry is seeing green shoots, despite the recent levy introduced by the government.

A report by Indian gaming-focussed VC Lumikai says the Indian online gaming market is pegged to hit $8.6 billion in FY27 from $2.6 billion in FY22.

Founded in 1999, Mixi went public in 2006. It is also a publisher of popular gaming titles such as Monster Strike, Tipstar and Humy. It currently has three main interest areas: lifestyle, entertainment and sports.

Apart from being a limited partner with India-based Lumikai, some other Mixi investments include VCs like Play Ventures and Sisu Game Ventures. It is also an investor in startups like SmartNews, Bitbank and Prophet Exchange.

In an interview with Mint, Mixi's principal partner Tomoharu Urabe delved into the strategic considerations driving the company's decision. Edited excerpts: 

What factors drove Mixi's decision to set up a VC fund in India?

Mixi is an active investor. We have been making investments in our areas of focus-lifestyle, entertainment and sports in and out of Japan both. We already have an active investment team, and lately, we have been allocating a higher budget for investments outside the home country.