LAT Aerospace

LAT Aerospace, incorporated in January 2025, is a New Delhi-based startup aiming to redefine regional air travel in India. The company was co-founded by Surobhi Das, the former Chief Operating Officer at Zomato, and Deepinder Goyal, the founder and CEO of Zomato. Das, who leads the daily operations, brings experience from her previous roles at Blinkit and Bain & Company. Goyal serves in a non-executive role, providing investment and mentorship. The venture was inspired by their shared frustration with India's inefficient regional connectivity, which forces reliance on slow road and rail networks for many communities outside major metro areas.

The company's business model centers on creating a high-frequency, low-cost travel network using specifically designed aircraft. LAT Aerospace is developing a 24-seater, Short Take-Off and Landing (STOL) aircraft engineered for medium-haul routes up to 1,500 km. This approach distinguishes it from intra-city air taxi services, as it targets intercity travel between smaller towns and cities. The core of its strategy involves operating from compact "air-stops," comparable in size to a parking lot, which bypasses the need for large, expensive airport infrastructure. This model is intended to activate hundreds of currently underutilized airstrips across India, making air travel as accessible and convenient as bus transport.

To support this vision, LAT Aerospace secured a $20 million investment from Deepinder Goyal in March 2025. The company has also established a propulsion research center in Bengaluru to develop India's first indigenous gas turbine engines from the ground up. This vertical integration aims to create lightweight, efficient engines for its STOL aircraft and potentially for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), signaling a long-term goal of aerospace self-reliance. The company is actively recruiting engineers in fields like aerodynamics and hybrid propulsion to drive its development forward.

Keywords: regional aviation, STOL aircraft, short take-off and landing, Indian aviation, aerospace engineering, air connectivity, Deepinder Goyal, Surobhi Das, gas turbine engine, propulsion systems, medium-haul flights, low-cost air travel, air-stops, intercity transport, aerospace manufacturing, Delhi NCR startup, aviation hardware, indigenous engine, regional transport, mobility solutions, future of flight