S. Korean firm's debut plunge adds to investor concerns about AI spending

Elice Group shares plunged 32 percent in South Korea on Tuesday, delivering the country’s worst debut for a company that raised more than $100 million in an IPO. The AI cloud and software provider raised 201.1 billion won and planned to spend most of the proceeds on portable modular data centers and related infrastructure. The debut intensified investor concerns about AI spending, valuations, competition and profitability, while the KOSPI fell 3.73 percent.

Elice shares closed at 60,500 won, compared with the IPO price of 90,500 won, leaving the company valued at roughly 674 billion won.

Institutional orders for Elice’s IPO totaled 388.84 times the number of shares available.

Elice revenue tripled to 34 billion won in the first half of the year, while it swung to an operating profit of 10 billion won from a 3.5 billion won loss a year earlier.

Elice chief executive and co-founder Kim Jae Won owns 34.6 percent of the company, followed by Altos with 24.45 percent and the Korea Development Bank with 6.45 percent.

The KOSPI fell to its lowest closing level since April 7, while shares of neocloud firms CoreWeave and Nebius Group each fell more than 5 percent.

Published Oct 21, 2026 12:36 am KST

The words "AI Artificial Intelligence" and a keyboard in this illustration taken Monday. Reuters-Yonhap

A 32 percent drop in shares of South Korea's Elice Group on Tuesday renewed investor concerns about the sustainability and the payoff cycle for the vast amount of capital pouring into the AI buildout amid growing scrutiny of company valuations.

The plunge in shares of the provider of AI arcloud services as well as AI-based education and business software made it the worst debut ever in South Korea for a company that raised more than $100 million in an IPO, according to Dealogic data.

Elice raised 201.1 billion won ($150 million) in its IPO, and said that it planned to spend most of the proceeds on launching portable modular data centres and related infrastructure.

The stock's poor first day of trading contributed to renewed weakness in AI-linked stocks on Wall Street on Tuesday, with shares in neocloud firms including CoreWeave and Nebius Group both falling more than 5 percent.

Elice's slide had earlier weighed on the broader South Korean market, a poster child for global AI trade and investor sentiment, with the benchmark KOSPI falling 3.73 percent to its lowest closing level since April 7.

After dominating market gains, AI companies are now facing more sceptical investors as concerns over spending, competition and profitability eclipse optimism about AI's long-term potential.

Elevated inflation has also pushed interest rates higher, meaning the AI sector's debt will become more expensive to repay. S&P Global estimates the world's biggest tech firms are likely to have more AI-linked liabilities than currently known.

Elice's IPO was priced on October 6, before the recent selloff in AI-related stocks.

"The conclusion is simple: the timing is bad. The latest chip selloff has bruised investors' appetite, and the poor debut is certainly a warning for upcoming AI listings," said Swissquote analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya.

"The good news is that AI headlines could change from one minute to the next. One great development and the rally could be back," she said, adding the sector's upside potential continues to compete with the downside risks from high valuations.

Increasing scrutiny of AI infra deals

Elice's shares closed at 60,500 won compared with its IPO pricing of 90,500 won, leaving it valued at roughly 674 billion won ($508 million). The IPO drew institutional orders worth 388.84 times the shares available in the offering.

Its poor debut came after other AI companies dropped or suspended deals in recent days, as investors reassess whether the firms racing to build the infrastructure underpinning AI can generate returns that justify soaring spending.

The IPO of Australia's Firmus, which is backed by Nvidia , was shelved, while Blackstone-backed AirTrunk postponed a Singapore listing, and SB Energy, a unit of SoftBank , delayed its U.S. share sale.

Investors are increasingly scrutinising AI infrastructure and data centre deals, said Ke Yan, head of research at Singapore-based Shenton Research, and were now focused on those firms' customer contracts and committed revenue figures.

"Everyone is not sure how much demand for AI there will be and it is hard to estimate current demand," said Kim Hak-joon, an analyst at Seoul-based Kiwoom Securities.

Elice's revenue for the first half of the year tripled to 34 billion won and it swung to an operating profit of 10 billion won compared with a 3.5 billion won loss for the same period a year earlier.

The company's largest shareholder is chief executive and co-founder Kim Jae Won, who holds 34.6 percent, ahead of Silicon Valley investor Altos with 24.45 percent and the Korea Development Bank, which owns 6.45 percent, according to company filings.

周二，韩国Elice集团股价暴跌32%，创下该国IPO史上最差首日表现，而此前该公司IPO募资额超过1亿美元。这家人工智能云和软件提供商筹集了2011亿韩元，计划将大部分资金用于便携式模块化数据中心及相关基础设施。此次IPO加剧了投资者对人工智能领域支出、估值、竞争和盈利能力的担忧，韩国综合股价指数（KOSPI）下跌3.73%。

Elice 股票收盘价为 60,500 韩元，而其 IPO 发行价为 90,500 韩元，公司估值约为 6740 亿韩元。

Elice IPO 的机构认购订单总量是可发行股票数量的 388.84 倍。

今年上半年，Elice 的收入增长了两倍，达到 340 亿韩元；同时，公司扭亏为盈，实现营业利润 100 亿韩元，而去年同期则亏损 35 亿韩元。

Elice 首席执行官兼联合创始人金载元持有公司 34.6% 的股份，其次是 Altos，持有 24.45% 的股份，韩国开发银行持有 6.45% 的股份。

韩国综合股价指数（KOSPI）跌至 4 月 7 日以来的最低收盘水平，而新兴云技术公司 CoreWeave 和 Nebius Group 的股价均下跌超过 5%。

发布于2026年10月21日凌晨12:36（韩国标准时间）

这张周一拍摄的插图显示了“AI 人工智能”字样和一个键盘。路透社-韩联社

周二，韩国 Elice 集团股价下跌 32%，这再次引发了投资者对人工智能建设中大量资金投入的可持续性和回报周期的担忧，同时，人们对公司估值的审查也越来越严格。

据 Dealogic 数据显示，这家提供人工智能云服务以及基于人工智能的教育和商业软件的公司股价暴跌，成为韩国有史以来IPO融资超过1亿美元的公司中表现最差的首秀。

Elice 在 IPO 中筹集了 2011 亿韩元（1.5 亿美元），并表示计划将大部分收益用于推出便携式模块化数据中心及相关基础设施。

该股首日交易表现不佳，导致周二华尔街人工智能相关股票再次走弱，CoreWeave 和 Nebius Group 等新云公司股价均下跌超过 5%。

Elice 的股价下跌此前已对韩国整体市场造成压力，韩国是全球人工智能交易和投资者情绪的代表，基准 KOSPI 指数下跌 3.73%，至 4 月 7 日以来的最低收盘水平。

在占据市场主导地位之后，人工智能公司现在面临着更多持怀疑态度的投资者，因为对支出、竞争和盈利能力的担忧盖过了对人工智能长期潜力的乐观情绪。

高通胀也推高了利率，这意味着人工智能行业的债务偿还成本将更高。标普全球估计，全球最大的科技公司可能背负着比目前已知的更多的与人工智能相关的负债。

Elice 的 IPO 定价于 10 月 6 日，早于近期人工智能相关股票的抛售潮。

“结论很简单：时机不好。最近的芯片抛售打击了投资者的信心，而糟糕的首秀无疑是对即将上市的人工智能公司的一个警示，”Swissquote分析师Ipek Ozkardeskaya表示。

“好消息是，人工智能领域的新闻瞬息万变。一个重大进展就可能让这波涨势重现，”她说道，并补充说，该行业的上涨潜力仍在与高估值带来的下行风险相互竞争。

对人工智能基础设施交易的审查日益严格

Elice的股票收盘价为每股60,500韩元，低于其IPO发行价每股90,500韩元，公司估值约为6740亿韩元（约合5.08亿美元）。此次IPO吸引了机构投资者认购，认购倍数高达发行股份的388.84倍。

此前几天，其他人工智能公司纷纷取消或暂停交易，导致该公司首秀表现不佳。投资者正在重新评估，这些竞相构建人工智能基础设施的公司能否产生足以证明其巨额支出合理的回报。

由英伟达支持的澳大利亚公司 Firmus 的 IPO 被搁置，而黑石集团支持的 AirTrunk 推迟了在新加坡上市，软银旗下的 SB Energy 也推迟了其在美国的股票出售。

新加坡申顿研究公司研究主管柯彦表示，投资者越来越关注人工智能基础设施和数据中心交易，现在他们更关注这些公司的客户合同和承诺的收入数据。

“大家都不确定人工智能会有多大的需求，也很难估计目前的需求，”首尔 Kiwoom 证券的分析师金学俊表示。

Elice 上半年的收入增长了两倍，达到 340 亿韩元，并扭亏为盈，实现营业利润 100 亿韩元，而去年同期则亏损 35 亿韩元。

根据公司文件显示，该公司最大的股东是首席执行官兼联合创始人金载元，持有 34.6% 的股份，其次是硅谷投资者 Altos（持有 24.45% 的股份）和韩国开发银行（持有 6.45% 的股份）。