Medical AI Stocks Recognized Overseas... Raising Value by Highlighting Growth Potential

Lunit, a Specialist in Video Analysis Solutions, Sees Stock Price Rise 339% This Year
Stocks of Vuno, JLK, and Deepnoid Also Show Strong Gains

Medical artificial intelligence (AI) technology development companies are gaining attention in the domestic stock market. As efforts to utilize AI technology to overcome intractable diseases such as cancer in medical settings accelerate, the performance of related companies is also improving. Domestic medical AI companies are gaining recognition for their technological capabilities overseas, leading to a rapid rise in their stock prices this year.

According to the Korea Exchange on the 21st, Lunit's stock price has risen 338.6% since the beginning of this year. It jumped from 29,800 KRW at the end of last year to 130,700 KRW. Considering that the KOSDAQ index rose 30.5% during the same period, the return on investment exceeds the market by more than 300 percentage points.

Lunit, regarded as a first-generation medical AI company, developed diagnostic assistance solutions that complement human visual limitations using AI technology. It launched cancer diagnosis-related imaging reading solutions such as 'Lunit INSIGHT' and cancer treatment-related imaging biomarker solutions like 'Lunit SCOPE.' The company has entered overseas markets through collaborations with global medical imaging equipment companies including GE Healthcare, Philips, Fujifilm, and Hologic. Hyunsoo Ha, a researcher at Yuanta Securities, explained, "Lunit is expected to show solid growth every year through expanding sales regions and adding product lines. The recent sharp rise in stock price was driven by strong first-quarter performance influenced by expectations for AI and one-time gains."

In the first quarter of this year, Lunit recorded sales of 11 billion KRW and an operating loss of 2.3 billion KRW. Compared to last year's sales of 13.9 billion KRW and operating loss of 50.7 billion KRW, the performance is rapidly improving. Lunit's market capitalization exceeded 1.6 trillion KRW based on the previous day's closing price, a scale comparable to Hyundai Wia, which recorded an operating profit of 212.1 billion KRW last year.

As AI technology rapidly advances, it is being actively utilized in the medical field. According to the American College of Radiology, the volume of imaging examinations such as computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which require long reading times, has increased by an average of 7% annually over the past decade. During the same period, the number of radiology specialists increased by only 2% annually. The shortage of radiology specialists is severe in emerging countries. AI is helping to address the shortage of radiology specialists. Lunit's technology demonstrates superior accuracy compared to competitors, increasing demand for Lunit INSIGHT worldwide.

As Lunit's stock price rises, related medical AI stocks such as VUNO, JLK, and Deepnoid are also continuing strong upward trends. VUNO's stock price has risen 438.5% since the beginning of this year, with a market capitalization exceeding 380 billion KRW. Founded in 2014, VUNO is an AI medical device development company. It pioneered the market by launching the first domestic product in 2018. It has developed products that assist medical staff in diagnostics and notify the risk of specific diseases in advance. Sales of 'VUNO Med-DeepCARS,' which uses vital sign data of hospitalized patients to indicate the risk of cardiac arrest within 24 hours, are increasing. The DeepCARS sales in the first quarter of this year reached 1.2 billion KRW, surpassing last year's total sales of 900 million KRW.

JLK is a company specializing in AI solutions for stroke (cerebral hemorrhage and cerebral infarction). It provides lesion detection and prognosis through AI-based medical imaging and data analysis. The number of hospitals seeking stroke AI solutions related to brain diseases is increasing. Deepnoid has a diversified platform portfolio covering medical diagnosis, reading assistance, and early disease detection solutions.

Hana Kang, a researcher at Ebest Investment & Securities, said, "Recently, the government has shown continuous interest in AI-based digital healthcare by providing funding to medical AI companies." She added, "On February 28, the government announced plans to foster the biohealth industry as the second semiconductor industry." She emphasized, "Domestic AI medical companies are expanding overseas through collaborations with large foreign healthcare companies. In the AI diagnostic field, partnerships with global companies can be established based on technological capabilities and academic papers alone."