SEOUL — Bear Robotics, the robotics subsidiary controlled by LG Electronics, is seeking up to 400 billion won ($290 million) in pre-IPO funding from domestic and overseas institutional investors.

 The involved companies describe the planned step as groundwork for a Nasdaq listing, according to a Sept. 6 report by the Korea Economic Daily that cited unnamed investment banking industry sources. Bank of America is arranging the round.

Those sources put Bear Robotics' valuation at roughly 2 trillion won ($1.4 billion), more than double the 700 billion won valuation the company received in March 2024, when LG invested $60 million, about 80 billion won, in a Series C round.

LG has since exercised call options to raise its stake further, bringing its total cash investment in Bear Robotics to roughly 340 billion won. Neither company has confirmed the funding amount, the valuation or a listing timeline.

LG Electronics said in a regulatory disclosure Sept. 7 that no decision has been made on an overseas listing, and that it would provide an update within a month or once details are finalized, Edaily reported (Korean language source).

LG Electronics shares jumped as much as 12% on Sept. 7 on the report, opening up 3.2% in Seoul trading and rising as high as 226,000 won, a 12.15% gain, before easing slightly by midmorning, according to FN News (Korean language source).

Bear Robotics, based in California, built its business on Servi, a food-serving robot used in restaurants and hotels. LG Electronics holds a 56.9% stake after increasing its position since 2024.

The company said it operates roughly 16,000 robots worldwide, though serving robots remain most of that fleet. The company reported revenue of 17 billion won against a net loss of 42.2 billion won, about $30 million, from May 7 through the end of last year.