Rebellion Targets South Korean IPO Next Year, CEO Tells CNBC

South Korean AI chip startup Rebellions is charting a course for an initial public offering in its home market, targeting the first or second quarter of next year. This strategic move is aimed at capturing the burgeoning investor enthusiasm surrounding artificial intelligence hardware. The company is leaning towards a listing on the KOSPI, South Korea’s main stock exchange, over the secondary KOSDAQ market, signaling its ambition for broader market recognition and access to larger pools of capital.

“Real revenue is now being generated. That’s why we are preparing the IPO with underwriters at J.P. Morgan and Samsung Securities,” Sunghyun Park, CEO of Rebellions, told CNBC in an exclusive interview. This indicates a significant shift from earlier stages of development, underscoring the company’s progress in commercializing its technology.

Park further elaborated on the choice of domestic market, stating, “Our investors prefer the Korean market, KOSPI actually, because we are well aligned with the Korean government megaproject, one of the largest commitments into AI infrastructure in the world.” This alignment highlights a symbiotic relationship between Rebellions and national strategic initiatives, potentially providing a competitive edge and enhanced government support.

While the KOSPI remains the preferred destination, Rebellions is not closing the door on international opportunities. “The company was also evaluating other listing options, such as the U.S., and was currently holding talks with both the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq,” Park confirmed. This dual-track approach allows flexibility and the ability to adapt to evolving market conditions and investor sentiment.

Rebellions, bolstered by significant backing from industry titans Samsung and SK Hynix, alongside a key fund from the Korean government, is emerging as a prominent player in the highly competitive AI inference semiconductor market. Inference chips are crucial for the real-time execution of AI models, a capability that is becoming increasingly vital as businesses deploy more sophisticated AI agents and applications. This is a distinct segment from AI training, which has historically been dominated by specialized hardware.

While Nvidia’s graphics processing units (GPUs) have long been the de facto standard for training complex AI models, the industry is witnessing a pronounced shift in focus towards inference-specific chips. These newer chips aim to deliver faster inference speeds while simultaneously optimizing for energy efficiency, a critical factor for widespread AI deployment, particularly in edge computing and data centers with massive scale requirements. Rebellions’ core technology, exemplified by its Rebel100 NPU chips and its second-generation Rebel-Quad server system, is designed to address these evolving demands.

The market sentiment for semiconductor companies fueling the AI revolution remains exceptionally strong. The PHLX Semiconductor Index, a benchmark for the sector, has surged approximately 80% this year, reflecting robust investor confidence. This favorable climate is spurring other innovative companies to pursue public offerings.

For instance, Cerebras Systems, another firm specializing in AI inference chips, recently completed its public listing in the U.S. Simultaneously, SK Hynix, a global leader in memory chip manufacturing, is set to list shares on the Nasdaq this week, capitalizing on the strong investor appetite for memory solutions. This move by SK Hynix, already listed in South Korea, further underscores the interconnectedness of global capital markets and the high demand for semiconductor players.