South Korean IPO flop marks latest disappointment for global AI trade

Elice Inc. pulled off the biggest Kosdaq listing of 2026 by proceeds. Then its stock started trading. The Seoul-based AI cloud services provider raised 201 billion won (approximately $151 million) in its October 20, 2026 debut. Shares closed roughly 32% below the offer price on their first day, a sharp reversal for a company that drew enormous demand before listing. From 400x oversubscribed to 32% underwater Elice priced its shares at 90,500 won each. On paper, demand looked spectacular. Retail investors oversubscribed the offering 400 times. Institutional investors were close behind at 389 times. Shares dropped as much as 38% intraday. That wiped out around 300 billion won in market value within an hour of trading opening. The stock recovered slightly but still closed about 32% below the IPO price. The scale of the drop puts Elice in unwelcome company. It was the worst opening-day performance for a South Korean IPO raising at least $100 million since at least 2022. The fundamentals were not the problem, at least on paper What makes the slide notable is that Elice is not a pre-revenue moonshot. The company has real money coming in. First-half revenue reached 34.4 billion won, more ...