AI company Saltlux said on Thursday its subsidiary Dyquest completed a pre-IPO investment round worth 15.2 billion won and has begun full preparations for a Kosdaq listing.

Institutional investors including Gurum Investment, Double Capital, SmartStudy Ventures, AIM Investment, JB Investment and Hyundai Investment Partners participated.

Dyquest has carried out AI search and recommendation system projects and AI contact centre build-outs across industries including the public sector, finance and manufacturing, based on its large-scale search engine and natural language processing (NLP) technology. It has recently been advancing its RAG-based knowledge response system, conversational AI and generative AI automated counselling solutions.

The company said it will focus the newly secured funds on expanding research and development, advancing core solutions, accelerating the shift to SaaS and securing AI talent. It plans to expand its business structure from project build-outs to a platform and subscription model, and to secure stable profitability and growth even after listing.

Dyquest has selected Mirae Asset Securities as its lead manager and is reviewing the optimal listing track, including a technology special listing. It is targeting a Kosdaq listing in 2027.

Saltlux said it will speed up a group-wide revaluation of corporate value and the advancement of its capital strategy, using Dyquest's listing push as a catalyst. It plans to combine Saltlux's ontology technology with Dyquest's search engine technology to strengthen competitiveness in advanced knowledge-based AI solutions in the customer service area.

Saltlux CEO Kyung-il Lee (이경일) said, "Dyquest's pre-IPO success goes beyond fundraising, and is significant in that the market has validated the subsidiary's corporate value and the IPO is being put into full swing." He added, "Based on growth momentum to be secured through the listing, we will make the leap to become a leading company in AI customer service while also taking the group's overall corporate value up another level."