Startup investment firm New Paradigm Investment announced on the 17th that it recently held an IPO strategy seminar for portfolio companies jointly with Kiwoom Securities.
New Paradigm Investment is pursuing an "Baby Unicorn Builder" strategy to discover early-stage startups and support them through the growth phase. By assisting with the refinement of business strategies and the expansion of revenue structures following the initial investment, the company helps scale up. This seminar was organized to extend this support system to the stage of preparing for an IPO.
The seminar shared trends in the 2026 IPO market and key risk factors. While expectations for the emergence of large-scale public offerings persist amidst the recent bullish trend in the KOSPI market, the seminar also highlighted a trend of tightening company selection criteria, noting that the approval rate for preliminary listing reviews has dropped from approximately 70% in the past to the low 60% range recently. High-tech sectors such as artificial intelligence, biotechnology, semiconductors, and the defense industry were mentioned as key industries of interest to the exchange.
At this seminar, Director Koo Bon-jin and Deputy General Manager Moon Chang-jin of Kiwoom Securities' Corporate Finance Division delivered presentations covering practical content such as IPO market trends and future outlooks, evaluation criteria for technology-focused special listings, and legal and financial factors that companies preparing for listing must verify. Key operational issues to consider during the IPO strategy formulation process were also addressed.
Recent changes in capital market regulations were also covered as a major topic of discussion. Policy changes aimed at strengthening the soundness of the IPO market were introduced, including the expansion of mandatory lock-up commitments for institutional investors, stricter delisting criteria, and the introduction of guidelines regarding duplicate listings between parent and subsidiary companies. Regarding special listings for technology companies, industry-specific evaluation factors were shared, such as AI companies' proprietary algorithms and data acquisition capabilities, and bio companies' clinical data and technology transfer track records.
Practical matters that companies preparing for listing must review were also presented. Risk management measures for the actual IPO preparation process were introduced, covering topics such as the basis in the articles of incorporation and management of grant limits when operating stock option schemes, regulations regarding deemed solicitation that may arise during the private equity fundraising process, and gift tax issues arising from transactions with related parties immediately prior to listing.
Kiwoom Securities explained that the importance of systematic listing preparation is growing amidst the recent trend of the IPO market being restructured around innovative technology companies, and stated that it plans to continue its cooperation to help New Paradigm’s portfolio companies in the deep tech and 4th industrial revolution sectors enter the capital market stably.
New Paradigm Investment maintains an investment strategy that supports the entire process of corporate growth, from Pre-A seed investment to Series A follow-up investment and IPO preparation. The company explains that it operates a full-cycle support model that extends beyond simple investment to include early discovery, scale-up support, follow-up investment, and preparation for listing.
The company participated in the entire process from the discovery to the listing of Blue M-Tech, an AI-based specialized pharmaceutical platform company, and is also collaborating with Medical AI, a medical AI company, from the early stages of its preparation for an IPO in 2026. Furthermore, as of 2025, the cumulative follow-on investment raised by its portfolio companies amounts to approximately 56 billion won.
New Paradigm Investment plans to make new investments worth approximately 10 billion won this year and intends to expand its investment activities, focusing on startups in the AI deep tech and Fourth Industrial Revolution sectors. In addition, it plans to strengthen its support system connecting early-stage startups with the capital market through cooperation with Kiwoom Securities.
Meanwhile, there is a growing trend in the venture investment industry to strengthen full-cycle growth support models that connect initial investment to follow-up investments and IPOs.
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