At DePIN Day Singapore, Alec Wilson, CEO of LayerDrone, took the stage to talk about drones — not as flying gadgets, but as a cornerstone of a new decentralized infrastructure layer.
His company, originally known as Spexi, has been building automated drone systems for years — capable of capturing ultra-high-resolution geospatial data far beyond what satellites can provide. But Wilson’s focus now is on something larger: the creation of the LayerDrone Network, a decentralized foundation designed to make all that data open, shareable, and collectively owned.
Drones to Data Infrastructure
The concept is simple but powerful. Through a mobile app, drone pilots anywhere in the world can join the LayerDrone Network.
Each pilot connects their device, selects a pre-mapped hexagon grid area (about 25 acres), and lets the drone autonomously fly a precise, standardized path.
Every completed flight feeds verified, structured data back into the LayerDrone platform — a dataset valuable for industries from advertising and logistics to AR, VR, and AI modeling.
So far, the network has achieved:
- 4.7 million acres imaged,
- 150,000+ flights,
- 25,000 hours of drones in the air,
- and seven-figure testnet revenue — before the token launch.
Bridging Web2 and Web3
Wilson emphasized that LayerDrone is not another token-first project.
The company started as a Web2 business with real revenue and customers — including enterprise clients in geospatial analytics and mapping.
The transition to Web3, he explained, is being done “thoughtfully and gradually.”
“Start with a real business,” he said.
“Transition your community carefully. Decentralize when the network is ready.”
Pilots in the LayerDrone ecosystem are currently rewarded in cash and points, which will later convert into tokens once the mainnet and LayerDrone Foundation go live.
This model encourages genuine engagement before speculation.
Decentralization at the Right Pace
LayerDrone’s approach to decentralization is pragmatic. Unlike purely tokenized networks, aviation requires safety, compliance, and quality control.
That’s why the LayerDrone Foundation will gradually take over governance — while the core Spexi Labs team maintains responsibility for development and regulatory oversight.
Wilson compared the approach to Uniswap’s early years — centralized enough to ensure product reliability, decentralized enough to enable future community growth.
Playing Both Games
Ultimately, Wilson believes successful DePIN projects must “play both games”: operate like a traditional business, while designing token systems that align incentives rather than replace real value.
“You need customers who want what you’re building and a token that amplifies that demand, not substitutes for it.”
With LayerDrone now preparing to move to mainnet later this year, the project stands out as one of the few DePIN ventures bridging industrial-grade infrastructure with on-chain economics.
