Korean AI Startup Wrtn Hits Unicorn Valuation, Starts IPO Prep

Korean generative AI startup Wrtn has reached unicorn status with a valuation above $1 billion, and the company has begun preparations for an initial public offering, the Seoul Economic Daily reports.

The milestone makes Wrtn one of the few Korean AI startups to cross the billion-dollar threshold. It also signals that the company is moving from the fundraising stage toward the public markets at a moment when investor appetite for AI-related listings remains intense.

According to the Seoul Economic Daily, Wrtn has kicked off work on an IPO — an unusual step for a Korean AI startup of its vintage, and one that would test how public-market investors price generative AI businesses built on top of foundation models rather than their own frontier technology.

Wrtn operates a consumer-facing generative AI platform that lets users access multiple large language models through a single service. The company has positioned itself in South Korea's crowded AI assistant market, competing against both global players and domestic rivals backed by the country's largest internet groups.

The reported valuation and the IPO preparations mark a rapid trajectory for the startup. They also come as Korean regulators and exchanges have signaled openness to listings by loss-making technology companies, a shift that could shape the timing and structure of any Wrtn offering.

For Seoul's venture ecosystem, a Wrtn listing would serve as a test case: it would show whether a Korean AI application-layer company — rather than a semiconductor or platform giant — can command public-market support at unicorn-level pricing. The Seoul Economic Daily's report does not specify a target listing date, an exchange, or the size of the proposed offering.

The next concrete signals to watch are the filing of preliminary listing documents, the disclosure of Wrtn's revenue and loss figures, and whether the company names underwriters. Each step would clarify whether the IPO track is near-term or a longer-horizon option as the startup consolidates its unicorn standing.