This article was published on May 12, 2025, at 5:39 p.m. on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove site.
Domestic venture capital firm Stonebridge Ventures is on the brink of a major exit with Livsmed. When Stonebridge Ventures first invested in 2016, Livsmed was valued at 30 billion won, and it recently moved forward with plans for an initial public offering (IPO) with a valuation in the trillion won range.
According to the Korea Exchange on the 12th, Livsmed filed for preliminary review of its listing on the KOSDAQ market on the 7th. The goal is to achieve an unbooked technical exception listing, having received an 'AA' and 'A' rating in a prior technological evaluation. It has been reported that a total of 2.47 million shares will be offered as new shares.
The number of shares expected to be listed is approximately 24,658,770, with a market capitalization target of about 1 trillion won after listing. Starting as a medical device startup in 2011, it developed the surgical instrument 'ArtiSential,' which can rotate 90 degrees in all directions, asserting itself as a profitable medical corporation.
In fact, ArtiSential has been implemented in over 250 hospitals in the country. Last year, revenue was 27.1 billion won, receiving evaluations as superior to Intuitive Surgical's ‘Da Vinci,’ the global leader in surgical robotics for 60-degree joint surgery. Earlier this year, it was valued at 880 billion won in a pre-IPO.
The market expects that the market capitalization could far exceed 1 trillion won after listing. With the aim of turning a profit this year, it's estimated that a net profit of 10 billion won could justify a valuation of 1 trillion won. Intuitive Surgical's price-to-earnings ratio (PER) has been reported to exceed 78 times.
Stonebridge Ventures is considered the investor most likely to see significant returns upon Livsmed's listing. It participated in the Series A funding round in July 2016 and became a financial investor (FI) in Livsmed early on, further increasing its stake to become the second-largest shareholder.
According to Livsmed's audit report, Stonebridge Ventures holds 14.13% equity as of this month, making it the second-largest shareholder. It possesses over 6% equity solely through the ‘Stonebridge Innovation Quarter Investment Fund’ and holds equity through four investment funds, including ‘Stonebridge DX Business Restructuring Investment Fund.’
Stonebridge Ventures is expected to achieve a return of over 30 times its investment when Livsmed lists at a valuation of 1 trillion won. It invested approximately 2 billion won during the Series A funding round in 2016 when the company’s valuation was around 32.6 billion won.
In particular, Stonebridge Ventures reportedly did not sell its shares during Livsmed's pre-IPO investment attraction process that began at the end of last year and continued into this year. LB Investment, an early investor alongside Stonebridge Ventures, conducted a partial exit through the sale of its shares.
Meanwhile, the success of the Livsmed investment withdrawal is expected to have a positive impact on Stonebridge Ventures' performance this year. It is projected that performance fees will increase due to excess earnings. Last year, the company’s performance fee was 100 million won, down 93.3% from the previous year (1.5 billion won).