MadUp, an AI-based advertising agency, is set to debut on the KOSDAQ market on July 1. Having received recognition for its technology from Meta and made aggressive investments in developing AI marketing solutions, the company aims to accelerate its market penetration following its listing.
During a press conference held on June 18 at the CCMM Building in Yeouido, CEO Lee Joo-min stated, "After going public, we will continue to expand our technological gap in the global AI marketing market and meet investor expectations."
Founded in 2015, MadUp provides AI digital marketing services based on advertising execution data and its AI agent, LEVER Xpert. The company applied for preliminary listing review with the KOSDAQ Market Headquarters in November last year and passed the review in April, about four months later.
MadUp has invested most of the funds raised from Series A to D in developing AI-based marketing solutions, enhancing its technological competitiveness. According to the company, it continuously allocates about 20% of its revenue to research and development (R&D) and maintains a development team of over 50 personnel dedicated to technological investment.
Recognition from global tech giant Meta is also considered a significant advantage. CEO Lee explained, "Meta commissions specific advertising technologies to partner companies, and MadUp is the only company in South Korea to receive such investment, indicating a level of technological recognition from Meta's headquarters."
The securities industry has also expressed positive evaluations. Park Jong-seon, a researcher at Eugene Investment & Securities, noted in a recent company analysis report, "The fact that Meta's headquarters directly verified the technology and invested capital is positive from a mid- to long-term growth strategy perspective."
Although MadUp chose the special listing track for companies with unrealized profits, its performance has shown improvement. Operating profit turned from a loss of 348 million won in 2024 to a profit of 823 million won last year. Net profit also returned to the black during the same period. Revenue growth continues, with consolidated revenues of 28 billion won in 2022, 34.9 billion won in 2023, 36.1 billion won in 2024, and 50.2 billion won last year, achieving an average annual growth rate of 33% over the past four years.
Choosing the special listing track for unrealized profits also provides general investors with a put option. This option allows investors to sell their shares back to the underwriter if the stock price falls below 90% of the offering price within a certain period after listing.
MadUp has been conducting demand forecasting for institutional investors from June 12 to the present. The desired offering price is set between 7,000 and 8,000 won. Following the general subscription on June 23-24, the company is scheduled to list on the KOSDAQ market on July 1. Mirae Asset Securities is the lead underwriter.
MadUp plans to offer a total of 2 million shares through a new share issuance. After listing, 69.1% of the total shares, approximately 13 million shares, will be subject to lock-up. The freely tradable shares will account for 30.9% (5.79 million shares), with the estimated market value based on the upper end of the offering price around 46.3 billion won.
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.