Nau Robotics, a South Korean developer of intelligent robotic automation systems, saw its shares soar nearly 150 percent on its Kosdaq debut on Thursday. The performance was driven by strong investor demand and the growing interest in manufacturing automation amid an aging population.

The shares were trading at 16,900 won ($12.1) as of 10:24 a.m., up 148.53 percent from the initial public offering (IPO) price of 6,800 won. The stock opened sharply higher and at one point climbed 175 percent to 18,700 won.

Nau Robotics offers one-stop automation solutions and is known for its flagship product lines: the NURO series of Cartesian robots, NURO-X articulated robots, NUCA SCARA robots, and the NUGO autonomous logistics robots.

The company’s market enthusiasm comes as the aging workforce continues to push demand for smart factory solutions in the manufacturing sector.

Meanwhile, semiconductor stocks also rallied Thursday morning following reports that the Donald Trump administration plans to cancel AI chip export control policies drafted by the previous administration.

Samsung Electronics shares were trading 0.55 percent higher at 54,900 won as of 10:25 a.m., and SK hynix shares rose 1.73 percent to 194,100 won.

Other gainers included Hanmi Semiconductor (up 1.8 percent), DI (1.91 percent), Leeno Industrial (0.14 percent), and EO Technics (3.34 percent).

Separately, SK bioscience shares jumped more than 5 percent after reporting a narrower operating loss in the first quarter of 2025.

The shares were trading at 40,925 won at 10:27 a.m., up 5.48 percent. The company said its consolidated operating loss for the first quarter was 15.1 billion won, down 46 percent from a year earlier.

Nau Robotics shares closed at 15,400 won, Samsung Electronics shares closed at 54,600 won, SK hynix shares closed at 190,300 won, and SK bioscience shares closed at 40,200 won.

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