Zomato co-founder Deepinder Goyal has ventured into aviation with a new startup called LAT Aerospace, aiming to make regional air travel in India more affordable and accessible. The initiative is co-founded with Surobhi Das, who previously worked with Goyal at Zomato.
In a LinkedIn post, Das wrote, “While building Zomato and flying across India, Deepinder and I kept circling back to the same question: Why is regional air travel still so broken — expensive, infrequent, and mostly out of reach unless you live in a metro?”
LAT Aerospace has already raised $50 million in funding, with Goyal contributing $20 million. Zomato plans to tap into India’s untapped aviation infrastructure, which includes over 450 airstrips, but only around 150 are currently used for commercial flights. Das pointed out that this leaves a large portion of the country’s aviation potential underutilised.
Millions of people in Tier-II and Tier-III cities still depend on long road and rail journeys due to limited air travel options. LAT Aerospace aims to address this gap by building 12 to 24-seater STOL (short take-off and landing) aircraft. These aircraft will operate from small air-stops, described by Das as “no bigger than a parking lot,” built close to where people live.
The Zomato startup refers to its aircraft as “buses in the sky” and is focused on connecting underserved areas that have been ignored by traditional airlines. LAT Aerospace is also looking to expand its team and is inviting aerospace engineers, systems designers and aviation enthusiasts to join the venture.
According to market data platform Tracxn, Surobhi Das serves as co-founder and Richard Mahn is the chief executive officer of LAT Aerospace.
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