The Korea Exchange's KOSDAQ Market Division said Thursday that Melcon, a manufacturer of precision temperature and humidity control equipment, Lablup, an artificial intelligence infrastructure software developer, and MBD, a medical device company, had passed the exchange's listing eligibility review after approval by the Kosdaq Listing Committee. The companies will now move forward with initial public offering (IPO) procedures ahead of their market debut.
Founded in 2003, Melcon makes temperature and humidity control equipment used in semiconductor and display production. The company supplies its equipment to major semiconductor manufacturers worldwide.
It reported 41.8 billion won ($30.1 million) in revenue and 6.16 billion won in operating profit last year. The offering will be led by Daishin Securities, one of South Korea's leading securities firms.
Lablup, established in 2015, develops software that helps companies build, manage and deploy artificial intelligence (AI) applications by simplifying AI infrastructure and computing resources. Its platform is designed to support users ranging from small development teams to large organizations running extensive AI systems.
The company posted 6.72 billion won ($4.8 million) in revenue and 679 million won in operating profit last year. NH Investment & Securities, another major South Korean brokerage is leading its IPO process.
Medical device developer MBD also secured preliminary approval despite remaining in the red, underscoring the junior market's efforts to support growing companies. Founded in 2015, the company develops 3D cell culture platforms that use patient-derived tumor cells to support cancer research, drug development and treatment testing.
The technology is designed to help predict how patients will respond to cancer therapies while reducing reliance on animal testing in preclinical research. It reported 1.52 billion won ($1.1 million) in revenue and an operating loss of 5.63 billion won last year. Hana Securities is serving as the lead manager for the offering.
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