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 than three times the figure from a year earlier. Elice also swung to an operating profit of 10.3 billion won over the same period.
The plan for the proceeds may explain part of the hesitation. Elice intends to spend the money primarily on modular AI data centers.
Part of a broader pattern
Elice is not the only AI infrastructure name feeling the pressure. Other AI-related listings have also slid, including CoreWeave, which has seen significant stock declines of its own.
The common thread is capital intensity. These companies need to spend large sums on hardware and facilities before revenue can catch up.
The gap between subscription demand and trading performance is worth noting. Heavy oversubscription in South Korean offerings often reflects investors bidding big to secure a small allocation, not a commitment to hold long term.
When many participants want a quick pop and that pop does not come, selling can snowball. An hour-long slide that erased around 300 billion won fits that pattern.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Diego Almada Lopez. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.