Domestic artificial intelligence (AI) and software corporations are moving to go public (IPO) this year and next. They plan to raise investment through listings and accelerate expansion into overseas markets.
According to the industry on the 19th, promising domestic AI corporations such as S2W, HANCOM InSpace, Nota, and Superb AI are proceeding with listing procedures, aiming for within the year or the first half of next year.
S2W, a big data–based AI and security corporation aiming to be "Korea's Palantir," will debut on the KOSDAQ market that day. S2W plans to use the proceeds from this listing to establish local subsidiaries in Japan and Singapore, and to invest in AI research and development (R&D), the introduction of high-performance graphics processing unit (GPU) servers, and the construction of an internet data center (IDC).
S2W set the final offering price at 13,200 won, the top end of the indicated range, in a book-building process for institutional investors held on 2nd–8th. Based on the final offering price, the expected proceeds are about 20.9 billion won, with an expected market capitalization at listing of about 139.8 billion won.
Founded in 2018, S2W began as a security company and expanded its business into a big data analytics AI corporation. S2W now provides a big data analytics platform to public and government institutions, built on its core technology of "multi-domain cross analysis." It collects data in real time from the dark web, Telegram, and more to support cybercrime investigations with the security AI platform "Jarvis," and offers the enterprise and institutional security AI platform "Quasar." It now supplies Quasar to major domestic conglomerates and to public institutions in Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan, and it recently signed a three-year renewal to supply Interpol.
S2W set a goal of turning profitable next year and boosting exports to raise the export share of revenue to more than 40% of sales starting in 2027. Last year, S2W's revenue was 9.61 billion won, up 53% from a year earlier, while operating loss was 4.5 billion won, narrowing the deficit by about 20% from the previous year. This year's sales target is 14.1 billion won, and next year's is 23.7 billion won.
S2W also put forward a blueprint to leap to "Asia's Palantir," noting that its business model is similar to that of Palantir, a leading U.S. AI corporation that supplies AI-based data analytics software to government agencies and corporations. Seo Sang-deok, CEO of S2W, said, "This listing will speed up S2W's push into global markets."
HANCOM InSpace, an affiliate of the Hancom Group, submitted a preliminary review application last month for a KOSDAQ listing. The goal is to list within the year. Founded in 2012 by CEO Choi Myeong-jin, formerly of the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), HANCOM InSpace is an AI data analytics specialist corporation. It collects and analyzes satellite, drone, and ground sensor data, then provides a platform that supports real-time decision-making in fields such as defense, disaster, and smart cities. Like S2W, HANCOM InSpace is also pursuing a "Korean-style Palantir" model that combines multidimensional information to perform analysis and forecasting.
The company's self-developed AI-based data convergence analytics platform "InStation" is used for disaster and calamity detection, crop yield prediction, and defense surveillance. HANCOM InSpace, the first domestic private corporation to do so, successfully launched the Earth observation satellite "Sejong-1" in 2022, and in June this year placed "Sejong-2" into orbit, building its own satellite data collection infrastructure.
With this listing as a springboard, HANCOM InSpace plans to focus on expanding data infrastructure, investing in R&D to advance AI convergence and analytics technology, recruiting talent for overseas expansion, and marketing. Last year's sales were 7.6 billion won, with an operating loss of 6.376 billion won.
Choi Myeong-jin, CEO of HANCOM InSpace, said, "We will move beyond an aerospace company to become a 'data intelligence' corporation that combines proprietary data infrastructure and AI, and we will cement our footing in the global market beyond Korea."
Nota, a corporation specializing in AI light-weighting and optimization, is also pushing for a KOSDAQ technology special listing. It conducted book-building for a KOSDAQ listing from 12th to 18th this month. The desired offer price is 7,600–9,100 won. Founded in 2015 as an on-campus venture at KAIST, Nota's flagship product is the AI model optimization platform "NetsPresso." It helps efficiently run high-performance AI models even on low-spec, low-power devices with limited compute resources. It collaborates on technology with leading corporations such as Samsung Electronics, Nvidia, Arm, Qualcomm, and Sony.
Nota established local subsidiaries in Berlin, Germany, in 2020 and in Sunnyvale, United States, in 2022, laying the groundwork for overseas expansion, and it has expanded into the Middle East, Japan, and Southeast Asia. Sales have grown rapidly from 2.01 billion won in 2022 to 3.58 billion won in 2023 and 8.44 billion won in 2024, but last year's operating loss reached 12 billion won.
Superb AI, a vision AI corporation, will also begin a designated audit this year, aiming for a technology special listing in the first half of next year. Founded in 2018, Superb AI provides vision AI solutions to more than 100 corporations, including Hyundai Motor, Samsung, LG Electronics, Qualcomm, and SK Telecom. It has raised a total of 49 billion won to date and has expanded into Korea, the United States, and Japan. Superb AI is participating in the government's "independent AI foundation model" project as part of the LG AI Research Institute consortium and was also selected as a participant in the 2 trillion won "K-humanoid coalition."
Including S2W, AI corporations preparing for IPOs are growing rapidly but remain in the red, so they are aiming to enter the KOSDAQ market by using the technology special listing system. There are concerns that if growth is not maintained after listing or profitability does not improve, it could negatively affect future stock performance. The technology special listing system allows corporations with technological prowess and growth potential to list on KOSDAQ even if they do not meet financial requirements. An AI industry official said, "Amid concerns over an 'AI bubble,' attention is on whether corporations listing on KOSDAQ can prove their technological capabilities and deliver results in global markets."