Elice, whose more than 30% plunge on its KOSDAQ trading debut weighed on investor sentiment toward global artificial intelligence shares, rebounded to its daily limit up just one day later. The stock recouped part of its losses as concerns over the profitability and valuations of AI infrastructure companies eased somewhat, though it still traded below its offering price.
Elice closed at 79,900 won, up 29.92% from the previous session, according to the Korea Exchange on the 21st. The closing price was still 11.71% below the offering price of 90,500 won.
Elice's first-day slide drew attention overseas as well, coinciding with worries about global AI infrastructure investment. Questions about investments funded by heavy borrowing had mounted after a drop in the price of corporate bonds issued by CoreWeave, a U.S. AI cloud company, and the weak market debut of a South Korean AI firm added to the caution. Bloomberg and Reuters also covered the case as evidence of waning AI investment sentiment.
"Elice is regarded as the South Korean company most similar to CoreWeave among neocloud firms," said Seo Sang-young, managing director at Mirae Asset Securities. "The sharp drop immediately after Elice's IPO stirred caution about returns on investment and valuations in the AI industry."