[Trading Trends] Names Sandwiched Between Toss and Dunamu... Jaeyoung Tech, StradVision

- Analysis of top traded companies in the over-the-counter market in 2026, companies drawing attention among the 'Big 6' (Toss, Kurly, Dunamu, Kbank, MUSINSA, Bithumb)

- StradVision: The 're-challenge' of an entrepreneur acquired by Intel, in the midst of getting into shape ahead of listing

- Jaeyoung Tech: "There is opportunity in crisis"... A 'contrarian' bold move of reducing personnel and increasing facilities

Looking at the top list of trading data in the unlisted market for 2026 by Pitchdeck, familiar names to investors are massively positioned. These include the so-called 'Big 6 of the over-the-counter market', such as Viva Republica (Toss), Kurly, Dunamu, Kbank, MUSINSA, and Bithumb. It is natural that they have high trading volumes, as they have already reached unicorn status or operate popular services.

However, it is interesting that four companies somewhat unfamiliar to the public have made it onto this solid top-tier list. They are Graphene Square, Duksan Nepcores, Jaeyoung Tech, and StradVision. Following Graphene Square and Duksan Nepcores examined earlier, this installment looks into the stories of StradVision and Jaeyoung Tech, which have prompted OTC market investors to click the 'buy' button with their respective unique stories and bold moves.

(Source: StradVision website)

◇ StradVision: Betting on technology despite widening deficits... The perseverance of 'serial entrepreneur' Junhwan Kim

StradVision represents the autonomous driving sector in the unlisted market in 2026 and maintains a high trading volume. The biggest reason this company attracts investors' attention lies in the impressive background and unrivaled technological foundation of its founder and CEO, Junhwan Kim.

CEO Junhwan Kim is known as a successful 'serial entrepreneur' in the industry. Having earned his Ph.D. from KAIST and Cornell University in the US, he went through Samsung Electronics before co-founding the facial recognition software company 'Olaworks' in 2006. Olaworks was recognized for its technological prowess and was sold to global semiconductor giant Intel in 2012, which is considered a legendary exit case in the domestic venture industry. After working as a principal engineer at Intel, he took on another challenge by founding StradVision in 2014 with the goal of "creating lightweight and efficient autonomous driving software."

Currently, StradVision has selected KB Securities as its lead underwriter and is in the final stages of 'getting into shape' for its IPO (Initial Public Offering). In particular, there have been recent moves to actively recruit relevant experts and HR professionals to establish an internal control system at the level of a listed company. The fact that StradVision's company rating is significantly higher than that of peer startups on professional communities like Blind also suggests that this organizational realignment is proceeding stably.

Of course, there are also views mixed with concern. This is because, while sales are growing, the deficit is widening. The performance, which was 3.9 billion won in sales and 26.1 billion won in operating loss in 2021, increased to 11.5 billion won in sales in 2024, but the operating loss also expanded to 62.9 billion won. However, over-the-counter market investors interpret this as inevitable R&D investment for technological advancement and are casting their votes on its future value based on CEO Kim's successful experience and cooperation with global partners such as Aptiv.

◇ Jaeyoung Tech: Pushing ahead with 'expansion' despite deteriorating performance... The coexistence of restructuring and investment

Another Top 10 company, Jaeyoung Tech, is a powerhouse in the waste battery recycling sector. Behind the recent surge in this company's trading volume lies a dramatic story of a 're-challenge for listing.'

Jaeyoung Tech initially pursued a listing last year but had to swallow a bitter pill when the Korea Exchange applied strict standards to the listing of deficit-ridden companies. After enduring hardships, the company is knocking on the IPO door again this year.

What is noteworthy is the company's desperate effort to 'improve its constitution' for the re-challenge. Amidst deteriorating performance, Jaeyoung Tech chose a bold strategy of simultaneously proceeding with 'downsizing' and 'scaling up.' First, to cut costs, it carried out a painful personnel restructuring. The number of employees, which was 155 in July 2024, is known to have been reduced by nearly half to 77 as of December 2025.

On the other hand, it is even more aggressive in facility investment for the future. Having recently attracted an investment of 30 billion won, it is pushing for an expansion to quadruple its production capacity (CAPA) from the current level of 5,000 tons per year to 20,000 tons. It has effectively drawn a line in the sand to lower fixed costs by reducing personnel and expand facilities to dominate the market with 'economies of scale' during the upcoming industry recovery phase.

Financially, it generated solid profits with 25.2 billion won in sales and 3.6 billion won in operating profit in 2021, but in 2024, it turned to a deficit, recording 32.2 billion won in sales and 19.9 billion won in operating loss. However, investors are betting on the company's turnaround potential, noting that LG Chem verified its technological prowess by investing 24 billion won, as well as its unique shareholder composition and network, such as having Ryu Dong-geun, President of Korea Maritime & Ocean University, listed as a shareholder.

The trading data of the unlisted market in 2026 holds meaning beyond simply ranking trading volumes. While giant platform companies like Toss or Dunamu are traded on their 'current status', Graphene Square, Duksan Nepcores, Jaeyoung Tech, and StradVision are being traded on their respective 'dramas'.

The re-challenge and R&D at the expense of deficits by a genius engineer from Intel (StradVision), and the perseverance to build factories for the future despite hardships (Jaeyoung Tech). Investors in the over-the-counter market are reading the fierce survival and growth stories of these companies hidden behind the 'minus' printed on their immediate financial statements, and they are placing buy orders today to preempt a page of that future.