The domestic smart farm market (an agricultural method that manages crops using digital technology) continues to grow, but the reality on the ground is challenging. In the domestic agricultural environment, where small and medium-sized farms are the majority, the high cost of building integrated solutions, ranging from at least KRW 5 million to tens of millions of KRW, is a significant burden. Additionally, for facilities with high electricity dependency, soaring electricity bills threaten survival.


Environmental management solution startup Laydot is addressing this issue with its self-developed modular hardware and software. Its core platform, 'GridLight,' optimizes power usage by operating supplementary lights in necessary areas based on environmental, weather, and crop data. Laydot has developed three hardware modules: ▲Farm Logger (environmental data collection device) ▲Farm Illumini (light measurement device) ▲Farm Grove (remote control device), and integrates all equipment on the GridLight platform. Laydot focuses on lowering the entry barrier for data-driven agriculture for small and medium-sized farms with affordable smart equipment.

Seo Yul, CEO of Laydot, who built a career as an IoT developer, experienced high installation costs firsthand while working on a farm. Determined to create small, affordable smart tools that anyone can use on-site, CEO Seo stated, "Previously, people manually controlled the lights, wasting power even when crops were light-saturated," and confirmed the need for devices that optimize power usage by providing light only where needed.

Combination of Affordable Smart Modules…Implementing Customized Solutions on Site


Laydot's Farm Logger is a sensor device that collects and records farm environmental data such as temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide concentration in real-time. Farm Illumini is a light measurement device that measures sunlight in real-time to calculate the required light amount for each crop. Farm Grove is a remote control device that helps schedule various farm equipment like LED supplementary lights and ventilation fans remotely. These three products are easy enough for farmers to install and set up themselves and can be used separately or combined to implement customized solutions.

GridLight integrates the three modules into an all-in-one solution that allows farm operations to be managed at a glance. It supplements the light needed for crops by utilizing environmental, light, and power control data comprehensively. It eliminates unnecessary power waste from the existing fixed and simple time-based supplementary lighting methods. CEO Seo stated, "Internal test results showed a 41.7% reduction in power usage and costs compared to existing methods." Power usage monitoring is possible via a smartphone app, and it includes remote control and notification functions to help create an optimal growth environment.

Laydot's differentiation lies in its price competitiveness and practicality. While existing complex environmental controllers require a high initial investment of KRW 5 million to KRW 30 million, Laydot offers 'affordable smart equipment available for tens of thousands of KRW,' lowering the adoption threshold for farms. CEO Seo explained, "Laydot emphasizes practicality that can be used directly on-site instead of expensive and difficult-to-distribute solutions," adding, "It is a product that can be introduced without burden as an entry-level option by combining only the necessary modules according to the on-site situation."

Laydot plans to strengthen its platform based on the data and behavior patterns accumulated through its hardware and GridLight platform in the future. In the long term, it aims to expand into an action recommendation service, applying artificial intelligence (AI) to suggest actions like "Supplement light for 40 more minutes today because it's cloudy." CEO Seo stated, "Considering the power cost burden on farms, we provide realistic data at a level users can handle, aiding decision-making. Ultimately, we aim to realize sophisticated 'data agriculture' by utilizing data."

2025 Forestry Open Innovation…Challenge Urban Environment Management with Hyundai Construction


Laydot is proving its technological prowess by expanding its domain beyond agriculture into urban landscaping. The starting point was securing a collaboration opportunity with Hyundai Construction in the '2025 Forestry Open Innovation' hosted by the Seoul Creative Economy Innovation Center, the Korea Forest Service, and the Korea Forestry Promotion Institute. Through this open innovation, startups and large companies discover collaboration tasks in the forestry sector and promote solution development using technologies like AI and big data. Hyundai Construction aims to foster a win-win cooperation and co-growth ecosystem with startups through open innovation.

Laydot collaborates with Hyundai Construction to develop a 'smart farm-based urban green infrastructure solution.' The core goal is to develop a 'smart landscaping and tree management growth (moisture, temperature, nutritional status) and environmental data collection device' using Laydot's technology.

Hyundai Construction faced difficulties in tree management due to maintenance gaps occurring a few years after apartment completion. It explained that real-time monitoring of soil moisture, sunlight, and atmospheric environment with Laydot's technology allows for proactive management by understanding tree conditions. CEO Seo stated, "We are developing a modular smart farm solution applicable within apartment complexes by modifying Farm Logger," adding, "We can secure objective tree growth data, improve maintenance efficiency based on this, and establish an automated process."

CEO Seo mentioned that the support from the Seoul Creative Economy Innovation Center, the Korea Forest Service, and the Korea Forestry Promotion Institute was behind the initial startup's opportunity to collaborate with a large company. He said, "The Seoul Creative Economy Innovation Center led the matching by assessing Laydot's technological potential and played a bridging role connecting both companies. The Korea Forest Service and the Korea Forestry Promotion Institute presented the vision and policy direction for agricultural technology to advance into the forestry and forestry management system." Laydot plans to develop a device prototype by December this year, enhance and stabilize it by February 2026, and conduct demonstrations in Hyundai Construction apartment complexes from March to June 2026.

Aiming to Evolve into a Convergence ICT·IoT Specialist Company


Established in 2024, Laydot completed the development of the minimum viable products (MVP) for Farm Logger and Farm Grove within a year and is currently conducting technology verification at farms in Jeonbuk and Gimhae regions. GridLight aims for a beta release in the first half of next year. Laydot was recognized for its technological prowess by winning the Gyeongnam Regional Small and Medium Venture Business Administration Award in November 2025. Meanwhile, Laydot announced plans to open its own farm, operating all facilities with its technology after receiving professional agricultural training at the Miryang Smart Farm Innovation Valley next year, with additional team members relocating from Seoul to Gyeongnam.

Laydot is establishing the smart tool market for agriculture while pioneering new areas using sensing and data technology. It aims to expand into a wide range of areas, including industry, marine, and urban, based on the low-cost modular sensing and control technology proven in agriculture. CEO Seo stated, "Open innovation was a turning point that presented the path to becoming an ICT·IoT technology company that can expand from agriculture to forestry, landscaping, and urban environments."

As part of this business direction, Laydot signed a B2B contract to provide a solution combining kiosk and power-saving management technology to Ailit's unmanned pawnshops 'Pawnshop Man' and 'Gold GO.' It reduces maintenance costs by remotely controlling unnecessary lighting in unmanned spaces and saving power. CEO Seo stated, "By maintaining hardware universally while flexibly advancing software according to crops or environments, we plan to expand into all areas requiring environmental data collection and remote control, beyond agriculture and urban landscaping, to livestock, hobby industries, and more." Additionally, Laydot is preparing to expand into the Japanese market, which has geographical proximity and similar agricultural systems.

CEO Seo stated, "Innovation is not only about creating something new but also about properly solving someone's inconvenience," adding, "No matter how good it is, if it's not used, it has no value. Laydot will be a company that creates truly necessary technology from the user's perspective, centering on the field."

IT Donga Reporter Kim Yeji (yj@itdonga.com)

Popular News