SAN DIEGO & SEOUL, South Korea — LivsMed said it has completed the largest initial public offering on Korea’s KOSDAQ market in 2025, raising approximately $94 million (₩135.9 billion) to support global expansion, including growth in the U.S. market.
The minimally invasive surgical device company priced its offering at ₩55,000 per share, resulting in a market capitalization exceeding ₩1.4 trillion, or about $1 billion, following its market debut. LivsMed said the proceeds will be used to build an integrated production base, expand research and development activities, and strengthen management systems to support global growth across its product portfolio.
The offering attracted strong demand from domestic pension funds and institutional investors, as well as global financial institutions based in New York and Boston. During institutional bookbuilding, the company reported demand of roughly 231-to-1. Overseas investors accounted for 8.2% of institutional demand, including participation from the United States, the Middle East, and Asia.
Shares opened more than 10% above the offering price on their first day of trading, reflecting strong initial market reception. Samsung Securities and Mirae Asset Securities served as joint lead underwriters for the IPO. Dollar equivalents were calculated using an exchange rate of ₩1,445 per $1 as of Dec. 24, 2025.
LivsMed’s flagship portfolio includes ArtiSential™, launched in 2018, a line of fully articulating handheld laparoscopic instruments designed to provide surgeons with wrist-like dexterity. The company has expanded its platform with ArtiSeal™, a 90-degree articulating vessel sealer intended to enable multi-angle access in confined anatomy.
The company is also advancing a surgical robotics roadmap. In July 2025, LivsMed demonstrated telesurgery capabilities of its STARK™ surgical robot in an early feasibility wet lab study conducted with telesurgery platform provider Sovato. During the demonstration, the surgeon console was located in Santa Barbara, California, while the robotic system operated from Chicago, Illinois.
“As we scale globally, we remain focused on making advanced surgical capability more accessible,” said Jung Joo Lee, Ph.D., founder and CEO of LivsMed. “An innovation cannot be called an innovation unless it can reach the masses.”
