Deepinder Goyal partners with ex-Zomato COO to launch aerospace startup, invests $20 million: Report

Billionaire Deepinder Goyal has reportedly partnered with Zomato's former chief operating officer Surobhi Das to launch an aerospace startup called LAT Aerospace, according to an ET report.

The startup, which is currently in stealth mode, plans to design and develop low-cost 12- to 24-seater Short Takeoff and Landing (STOL) aircraft to connect smaller cities.

The report said that Goyal has invested $20 million in the startup, taking on a non-executive role as an investor and mentor. Das will lead the company’s day-to-day operations.

Raising more funding

LAT Aerospace is also in talks to raise $50 million in a seed funding round to hire engineers across disciplines such as aerodynamics, material sciences and hybrid propulsion systems.

The report further noted that the Delhi-based startup will be building aircrafts that have a range of up to 1,500 km. Das resigned from Zomato in November 2023 and has worked in Bain & Company.

Surobhi Das shares LinkedIn post

"While building Zomato and traveling extensively, Deepinder Goyal and I often discussed how regional aviation should be effortless, affordable, and accessible. That’s what we’re now building at LAT. At LAT Aerospace, we’re rethinking the way we fly—designing low-cost 12 to 24-seater STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) aircraft designed to make cities, towns, and communities more connected than ever," Das said in a LinkedIn post.  

"Our aircrafts will take off and land from ultra-compact “air-stops”—as small as a parking lot. Imagine dozens of air-stops across major cities, seamlessly linking them to hundreds of smaller cities without baggage belts, security bottlenecks, or expensive airport infrastructure—because regional air travel doesn’t need them," she wrote. 

"We’re based in Delhi NCR and assembling a world-class team of engineers, designers, and builders to take on the toughest challenges in aircraft design, aerodynamics, materials & composites, hybrid propulsion systems, and turbo-machinery," Das added.

Sharing Das' post, Deepinder Goyal wrote, "Excited to bring a decade old idea to life, Surobhi Das Folks – Surobhi is looking for the founding engineering team for LAT, in the fields of aircraft design, aerodynamics, materials & composites, hybrid propulsion systems, and turbo-machinery."