Deepinder Goyal, the founder and chief executive of Zomato is planning to venture from his food-delivery business to aviation. Goyal has invested about $20 million in LAT Aerospace, a new start-up aviation firm. As a part of the agreement, Goyal has partnered with his Zomato ex-COO Surobhi Das. 

LAT Aerospace will be working on developing low-cost short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft with up to 24 seats. These aircraft will focus on improving regional air connectivity.

The STOLs will be slightly different from eVTOLs, planned for more longer, inter-city routes. With this model, LAT Aerospace aims to compete with major aircraft manufacturers like ATR and Bombardier. 

In a LinkedIn post describing the vision behind this start-up Surobhi Das said: “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.” 

Further describing the start-up Das goes on to explain the central idea – “At LAT Aerospace, we’re rethinking the way we fly, to make cities, towns, and communities more connected than ever.” 

The aircraft 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,” Das adds. 

LAT Aerospace will be based in Delhi NCR and is currently 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.