KoreaKorea's Elice falls 32% on its debut as foreign press calls it a warning for the AI trade

Korean AI infrastructure company Elice fell more than 30% on its first day on the KOSDAQ, and major foreign outlets treated the drop as a warning sign for AI investing.

Per SBS Biz on Oct 21, Elice closed at 61,500 won on Oct 20, 32.04% below its 90,500-won IPO price. Bloomberg said the little-known company had landed at the center of the debate over AI valuations.

"Elice's disastrous debut reconfirms that the 'buy anything AI' era has turned into the 'doubt anything AI' era," said Hebe Chen of Vantage Global. Barron's noted the stock fell despite first-half revenue tripling from a year earlier.

CNBC said the $150 million IPO was small but read by investors as a signal for AI infrastructure sentiment. CoreWeave fell more than 6% early that day before recovering.