Full Breakdown
Elice’s IPO Plunge Marks a Test for AI Infrastructure Investment
By Drooid · · How we work
Elice’s debut on the Kosdaq sees shares tumble
On October 20, shares of Seoul-based AI services firm Elice Group opened at 75,700 won and fell as much as 33 percent, closing around 61,500 won—about a 30-plus percent discount to the IPO price of 90,500 won. The drop cut the company’s market value from roughly 1 trillion won to about 700 billion won. Institutional orders were 388.84 times the offering, while the retail tranche attracted more than 400 times subscription, amounting to about 10 trillion won in deposits.
Background: AI data-center boom meets market skepticism
Elice’s offering was the largest Kosdaq IPO of 2026, raising 201.1 billion won (? $150 million). Founded in 2015 by three KAIST doctoral students, the firm shifted from an AI-education platform to a “neocloud” provider that builds portable modular data centres for GPU-intensive AI workloads. Its debut came amid a broader slowdown in investor appetite for AI-infrastructure listings: Nvidia-backed Firmus Grid cancelled a Sydney IPO, CoreWeave’s shares have halved since May, AirTrunk delayed a REIT IPO, and Nscale faces valuation pushback. Analysts note the IPO was priced on October 6, before a recent sell-off in AI-related equities.
Financial highlights of the offering
- IPO proceeds: 201.1 billion won; post-pricing market cap > 1 trillion won.
- Subscription levels: Institutional demand 388.84 times; retail demand > 400 times (? 10 trillion won).
- First-half 2026 results (company statement): revenue 34 billion won (? 200 % YoY growth); operating profit 10 billion won (versus a 3.5 billion won loss a year earlier).
- Projected 2026 performance (analyst note): sales expected to rise 83 %; operating margin projected around 33 %.
Official statements & responses
Elice CEO Jae Won Kim said the IPO provides “financial firepower” to expand modular AI data centres in South Korea and overseas, positioning the firm as a “full-stack AI infrastructure leader globally.”
Kim Hak-joon of Kiwoom Securities added that demand for AI capacity remains uncertain, making it “hard to estimate current demand.”
Albert Yong of Petra Capital Management noted that sentiment toward AI-infrastructure firms has weakened, especially in the United States, and described the volatility as “often disconnected from underlying fundamentals.”
Conflicting reports & gaps
Sources differ on the exact magnitude of the decline: Reuters cites a 30 percent fall, Bloomberg reports a 32-33 percent drop, while Business Times mentions a 37 percent slide to 57,000 won before partial recovery. Low-price points also vary (61,000 won, 61,400 won, 57,000 won). No source provides a definitive post-debut outlook beyond the statements above, leaving uncertainty about how quickly the share price might recover.
Verbatim quotes
- “Elice’s debut comes at a time when sentiment toward AI infrastructure companies has weakened, particularly in the US,” — Albert Yong, Petra Capital Management
- “Elice's debut shows the AI infrastructure trade has moved from 'build at any cost' to 'who is paying and for how long',” — Ke Yan, Shenton Research
- “Everyone is not sure how much demand for AI there will be and it is hard to estimate current demand,” — Kim Hak-joon, Kiwoom Securities
- “It remains to be seen whether the company can maintain its current profitability,” — Zian Investment Management.
