South Korea's Cosmo Robotics and Polled to List on KOSDAQ This Week
Medical robot developer Cosmo Robotics and children's goods manufacturer Polled (spun off from Hyundai Motor) will debut on KOSDAQ on May 11 and 14, respectively, following strong demand from institutional investors.
As of May 10, 2026, two South Korean IPOs, Cosmo Robotics and Polled, are completing their placement processes with record oversubscription rates. To an outside observer, this looks like a technical event in a local market, but I see it as a crucial marker of two global trends that Western media are missing.
The Essence: What's Really Happening
Behind the dry numbers of massive oversubscription lies a story of how Korean retail investors have become one of the most influential forces in Asia's IPO market, and how big capital is trying to get ahead of regulatory reform that is about to change the rules of the game on KOSDAQ.
According to Yonhap Infomax, both companies confirmed their IPO prices at the top end of the range, a strong bullish signal. Cosmo Robotics raised about $188.5 million (250 billion won) with a competition ratio of 2013.8 to 1, and total bids exceeded $47.5 billion (6.3 trillion won). Polled, spun off from Hyundai Motor, set its price at 5,000 won ($4.23 per share) and attracted $4.4 billion in retail bids, a record for the year by competition ratio.
However, as The Korea Herald reports, the Korean IPO market overall is in a slump: only 12 companies listed on KOSPI and KOSDAQ in the first four months of 2026, compared to 27 a year earlier. There were no listings in February. The main reason is regulatory uncertainty surrounding government plans to ban "spin-off listings" to protect minority shareholders of parent companies. This directly concerns Polled, which is a classic example of such a spin-off from Hyundai Motor.
Timeline and Context
According to Yonhap Infomax, Cosmo Robotics will list on KOSDAQ on May 11, and Polled on May 14. A third company, MakinaRocks, an industrial AI developer, will conduct its retail subscription on May 11-12 and list on May 20.
Cosmo Robotics, founded in 2016, produces wearable robots for rehabilitation of patients with stroke, cerebral palsy, and spinal cord injuries, as well as industrial exoskeletons. According to Chosun, the company plans to enter the US, Japan, Europe, and China markets, and expand from B2B to B2C.
Polled was created as an internal venture of Hyundai Motor in 2019 and specializes in children's products.
An important backdrop is the announced KOSDAQ reform. As Maeil Business Newspaper reports, authorities plan to introduce an "upgrade/downgrade system," dividing the market into three segments: premium, standard, and managed. No more than 100 companies will be in the premium segment. The reform could start in October 2026, and companies listing now are doing so under the old rules, hoping to later enter the premium tier.
Who Wins and Who Loses
Winners:
Underwriters — NH Investment & Securities and Eugene Investment & Securities (for Cosmo Robotics), NH Investment & Securities (for Polled) — earn fees tied to the top end of the price range.
Early venture investors in both companies get a partial exit opportunity. Particularly notable is the case of MakinaRocks, which, as Chosunbiz details, survived a failed first IPO attempt, had to halve its valuation (to 120 billion won / about $90.7 million) to secure emergency funding, and is now listing at a price close to its 2023 round. Investors secured a short two-month lock-up, indicating a desire to quickly cash out at the first opportunity.
Korean retail investors in the short term: Maeil Business Newspaper reports that the average return on the first day of trading in April was 79.9%, and year-to-date 174.8%, an all-time high.
Losers:
Investors betting on long-term performance. According to Samsung Securities, about 80% of companies that went public after 2025 trade below their opening price after one month. In May 2026, lock-up expirations for 25 companies, including Inventera, Nota, Organoid Science, and Aromatica, will create selling pressure on the market.
Large conglomerates like SK and Hanwha, which postponed IPOs of their subsidiaries (SK Eco Plant, Hanwha Energy) due to stricter regulations on spin-offs.
What the Media Isn't Saying
The KOSDAQ reform is reported, but it's not emphasized that it effectively creates a two-tier system where securities outside the premium segment become "toxic" for institutions. Maeil Business Newspaper reports that no more than 100 companies out of 1,820 listed will enter the premium tier. Asset management firms will be able to create ETFs based on the premium segment, attracting passive money from pension funds. All others risk losing liquidity, much like hundreds of small tokens dying on crypto exchanges.
The second non-obvious point is the macroeconomic backdrop. KOSPI has risen about 70-75% year-to-date, driven by the rally in Samsung Electronics and SK hynix on the AI wave. This is a bullish backdrop, but it by no means guarantees the sustainability of small IPOs. Rather, it reminds me of the dot-com bubble, where liquidity from giants flows into speculative stories.
The third point concerns Cosmo Robotics. The market focuses on oversubscription numbers, but almost no one analyzes whether the company can truly compete globally with Ekso Bionics (USA, market cap about $45 million) and Cyberdyne (Japan, market cap about $280 million), which have already carved out niches and hold patent portfolios. Cosmo Robotics is betting on the pediatric segment and Natural Gate technology, but the actual addressable market for rehabilitation robotics in the US is about $640 million per year — a niche story that should be valued at 3-5x annual revenue, no more.
Forecast: Next 30 Days and 90 Days
Next 30 days (until June 10, 2026):
Cosmo Robotics (May 11) and Polled (May 14) will show strong first-day trading — likely a 50-100% rise from the offering price. MakinaRocks (May 20) also has chances for a positive debut thanks to AI hype. However, within 2-4 weeks, a correction will begin, as happens with 80% of new listings. I advise caution with buying at the open.
90-day horizon (until August 2026):
The key factor is the approval of the KOSDAQ reform at the end of July. Once the premium segment list is published, a sharp divergence will occur: stocks that make it into the premium tier will attract passive capital inflows, while others will face outflows. Cosmo Robotics, with annual revenue of $66.5 million (about 88 billion won in 2025) and international FDA/CE certifications, has decent chances of inclusion. Polled, with its record retail competition, may be overvalued at launch and correct more sharply if it doesn't enter the premium tier.
MakinaRocks is the riskiest case. As Chosunbiz details, the company is valued at about $198.7 million (263.1 billion won), close to its 2023 valuation despite two years of "fundamental strengthening," yet it promises profitability only by 2027 and revenue of $75.5 million (100 billion won) by 2030. If the market doesn't see sales growth in the next two quarters, I expect a 40-50% decline from the opening price after the two-month lock-up expires.
— Editorial Team
