Wrtn Technologies, an artificial intelligence service platform company, said on the 23rd that it has selected Mirae Asset Securities (006800.KS) as lead manager and NH Investment & Securities (005940.KS) as co-manager for its initial public offering.
Wrtn plans to work with the underwriters to finalize details, targeting an application for preliminary listing review next year.
The company joined the ranks of unicorns in August, when it raised 100 billion won ($72 million) in a Series C round at a valuation of more than 1 trillion won. Cumulative funding stands at about 230 billion won. Wrtn formally announced its IPO plans early this month and has since been selecting underwriters.
"Wrtn has grown explosively in the AI service sector and has proven unrivaled competitiveness in the market," said Kim Jin-tae, head of the IPO division at Mirae Asset Securities. "The company is faithfully demonstrating J-curve growth, and we will do our utmost to make this a successful listing." Lee Se-young, chief executive of Wrtn, said, "Through a capital market listing, we will leap higher from being Korea's leading AI startup to a global AI company."
Five domestic AI startups have reached valuations above 1 trillion won, including Wrtn. The others are AI chipmakers Rebellions and FuriosaAI, AI entertainment technology firm Galaxy Corporation and generative AI company Upstage. Wrtn is the only one in the AI service field.
