AI Startup Upstage Hires KB Securities, Mirae for Korea IPO

South Korean AI startup Upstage has hired KB Securities Co. and Mirae Asset Securities Co. to assist with an initial public offering as early as the second half of 2026, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Seoul-based company plans to go public at home by the first half of 2027 at the latest, said the people, who asked not to be named discussing private matters. That would make Upstage the first post-ChatGPT generative AI startup to go public in the country.

Upstage is one of five teams shortlisted by the Korean government to develop a national foundational AI ...