Wanted Lab

Wanted Lab is an HR tech company operating a recruitment platform built on an AI matching engine, founded in 2015 and listed on KOSDAQ in 2021. Its core recruitment AI segment, powered by an AI matching engine trained on more than six million matching data points, still accounts for over half of revenue.

In the first quarter of 2026, the recruitment AI segment generated about KRW 6.3 billion, roughly 70% of revenue, while the newer AX (AI transformation) segment contributed about KRW 2.0 billion, or roughly 23%.

In the second quarter of 2026, recruitment-segment revenue was KRW 6.9 billion, about 59% of total revenue, still the largest single revenue base.

The AX segment centers on 'Ennoia,' an enterprise AI agent creation and operation solution, bundling employee training, organizational change management, agent building, and related talent recruitment into an integrated package.

As of the second quarter of 2026, roughly 700 Ennoia-based agents were running across about 20 companies and institutions, and cumulative participants in the hands-on 'AX Champion' training program exceeded 4,000.

The global segment is built around the 'Wanted Global Membership' for overseas talent recruitment and a partnership with Japanese IT talent-matching platform Laplace, targeting Japan's HR market, estimated at about 20 times the size of Korea's.

Through its strategic investment arm WantedLab Partners, the company scouts promising HR tech and AI/AX startups, and it has also established a local entity in Japan to strengthen its position in the Asian market.

Consolidated revenue in 2025 was KRW 38.17 billion, recovering to a level between 2023 (KRW 39.67 billion) and 2024 (KRW 36.74 billion), while operating profit turned to KRW 1.02 billion from an operating loss of KRW 0.82 billion in 2024.

Net profit also swung to KRW 1.28 billion from a loss, with the operating margin improving from -2.2% in 2024 to 2.7% in 2025. Compared with 2022's operating profit of KRW 8.95 billion and 17.8% operating margin, however, current profit levels remain well below the recruitment-boom peak.

On a quarterly basis, revenue and operating profit continued to improve through the second half of 2025, reaching KRW 9.66 billion revenue and KRW 0.54 billion operating profit in the third quarter and KRW 10.91 billion revenue and KRW 1.17 billion operating profit in the fourth quarter.

In the first quarter of 2026, however, revenue fell to KRW 8.90 billion and the company posted an operating loss of KRW 0.98 billion and a net loss of KRW 1.51 billion, with a sharp year-on-year rise in interest expense contributing to the wider net loss.

In the second quarter of 2026, revenue rebounded sharply to KRW 11.73 billion, operating profit turned positive again at KRW 1.22 billion, and net profit improved substantially to KRW 2.26 billion.

Over the trailing four quarters (Q3 2025 through Q2 2026), cumulative revenue was about KRW 41.2 billion and cumulative net profit attributable to owners was about KRW 1.99 billion, showing that despite quarterly volatility the company was profitable over that full window.

This pattern reflects the combined effects of a recruitment market recovery, expansion of AI education and AX business, and cost efficiency measures.

Korea's recruitment platform market is a cyclical industry whose performance swings widely with the economy and corporate hiring plans, a risk Wanted Lab itself has cited in describing its own business structure.

As on-demand, role-specific hiring becomes more common, demand for AI-based matching technology is expanding, and about 66% of job postings on the platform now contain AI-related keywords, reflecting growing demand for AI talent.

Rising demand for career education tied to the government's expanded K-Digital Training program is also a favorable factor for the business environment.

In the public sector, demand for role-fit-based hiring is growing, and the government's stated plan to expand discovery of public-service jobs is cited as another factor that could increase related demand.

Competitively, large domestic recruitment platforms coexist with global talent-matching services, and Wanted Lab is positioning its AI matching data and integrated AX services as points of differentiation.

Overseas, Japan's HR market is estimated at roughly 20 times the size of Korea's, and Wanted Lab is approaching that market through its partnership with Laplace.

Korea's recruitment market has recently shown signs of recovery, including increases in new job postings and applications, but the structure remains one that is ultimately driven by corporate hiring plans.

The company has set a target of raising the combined share of global and AX business to about 50% of total revenue by the fourth quarter of 2026.

However, the exact revenue share of the global and AX businesses has not yet been separately disclosed, and some observers note that additional metrics—such as a clear revenue breakdown, the number of paying agents, and contract renewal rates—would be needed to judge progress toward that target.

The AX business is expanding its base through the spread of Ennoia-based agents and growth in participation in the AX Champion program, with public institutions and universities including the Korea Tourism Organization, the Korea International Trade Association, and Kyung Hee University joining as new clients.

In the global segment, overseas talent recruitment through the Wanted Global Membership and market entry into Japan via the Laplace partnership are presented as medium- to long-term growth pillars.

In the core recruitment segment, key hiring indicators such as new job postings and application volumes have shown improvement, suggesting that a continued recruitment market recovery could translate into a broader revenue base.

The company is also diversifying its pricing structure, introducing a flat-fee model alongside per-hire fees, in an effort to improve revenue stability.