Bengaluru, July 2025 — In an era where most unicorn founders chase safer bets for their second act, Zomato’s Deepinder Goyal is going in the opposite direction toward complexity, combustion, and control systems.
His new venture, LAT Aerospace, is quietly building something India has never done before: a fully indigenous jet engine.
This isn’t a JV or an assembly unit. LAT wants to design gas turbine engines from scratch powering short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft that could connect Tier‑2/3 towns via small 12–24 seater planes. Think of it as building “buses in the sky” for Bharat.
And he’s not waiting for permission.
Engineering-Led, Founder-Funded
LAT has already raised $50 million in seed capital and has over 25 engineers across turbomachinery, materials, combustion systems, and control.
Goyal personally committed $20 million, calling this “India’s aerospace infrastructure gap.” His goal is to own the entire propulsion stack, so India no longer imports critical engines for drones, regional aircraft, or even military UAVs.
This isn’t just a tech story it’s a sovereignty story.
Why It Matters for Founders
India generates world-class coders. But we still import all our jet engines, often with licensing restrictions. LAT is taking a page from ISRO’s self-reliant playbook and applying it to civil aviation.
If it succeeds, it will open up an entire ecosystem for aerospace-grade components, thermal systems, defense startups, and low-cost regional aviation.
Most importantly it breaks the myth that only government or foreign partnerships can build serious hardware in India.
What Founders Should Learn
• Second-time founders don’t need to play safe. They can go deeper, harder, and more meaningful.
• Infrastructure is the next big tech frontier. If you control infra, you control delivery.
• Bharat needs real-world solutions. Connecting India’s unused airstrips with STOL aircraft is more useful than another dating app.
Final Take
LAT Aerospace is not just a startup it’s a signal.
It says Indian founders can lead the world in deep-tech, defense, and mobility infrastructure without waiting for foreign OEMs or unicorn validation.
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