Full-Time
Develops regional STOL aircraft and air-stops
No salary listed
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
In Person
Bachelor's
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LAT Aerospace builds a high-frequency, low-cost regional air network in India using a 24-seat STOL aircraft for routes up to 1,500 km, operating from compact air-stops instead of large airports. It aims to activate hundreds of underutilized airstrips to connect smaller towns, making air travel as accessible as bus transport. It is developing indigenous propulsion at a Bengaluru center to create lightweight gas turbine engines for its planes and UAVs, pursuing aerospace self-reliance. The company differentiates itself with in-house engine development, a focus on air-stops, and a scalable fleet model to boost regional mobility and connectivity.
Company Size
51-200
Company Stage
N/A
Total Funding
$20M
Headquarters
New Delhi, India
Founded
2025
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Deepinder Goyal, founder of Eternal Ltd. (formerly Zomato), is making personal investments in health tech and aviation. He has invested $20 million in LAT Aerospace, which is developing short takeoff and landing aircraft for urban travel in India. The company plans to operate eight-seater planes connecting regional airstrips. Goyal is also launching Temple, a wearable health device worn on the forehead that measures metabolic rate. The device is expected to launch within six to twelve months, priced around $1,000. Goyal has acknowledged both ventures face significant regulatory and technical challenges. The Temple device awaits medical approval and independent validation, whilst LAT Aerospace must secure aviation certifications and develop ground infrastructure. Goyal described the probability of success as low for these capital-intensive projects, which are separate from his role at Eternal Ltd.
LAT Aerospace acquires Sharang Shakti to build indigenous defence. The deal signals LAT's intent to strengthen core aerospace systems through in-house development. FEBRUARY 24, 2026, 8:59 PM Key Takeaways What actually matters. LAT Aerospace acquires Sharang Shakti to enhance indigenous defence capabilities. Integrate robotics expertise into broader technology roadmap for civil aviation and defence. LAT Aerospace has acquired Sharang Shakti, an early-stage defence robotics startup based in Gurgaon. Co-Founder Deepinder Goyal, who is also the Co-Founder of Zomato, announced this on X. The acquisition marks LAT's first step towards building indigenous defence capabilities while advancing its civil aviation plans in India. Goyal said the move aligns with LAT's long-term mission to develop next-generation civil aviation platforms from India. He said the company will integrate Sharang Shakti's robotics expertise into its broader technology roadmap. The deal signals LAT's intent to strengthen core aerospace systems through in-house development. "Civil aviation and defence are often viewed as separate sectors. But the core technology stack is shared across autonomy, perception, sensing, navigation, guidance, and control systems," Goyal wrote. By acquiring Sharang Shakti, LAT Aerospace plans to build these capabilities internally. Goyal said the company will develop systems from first principles. He added that LAT aims to deploy these capabilities across defence and civil programmes over time. "This is our first move towards building indigenous defence capabilities alongside our long-term mission of developing next-generation civil aviation platforms from India," he wrote. The company also recently completed its first ultra-short take-off and landing (uSTOL) technology demonstrator in November last year. The fully electric, fixed-wing UAV was announced to be "almost ready for flight", marking the company's first significant milestone since it began building the aircraft and its flight lab in early 2025. The UAV took off from 40 metres, flew for 60 minutes, and cruised autonomously between Mumbai and Pune. The company was also told by Co-Founder Surobhi Das to be working on figuring out how to reduce weight, building their own Monte Carlo simulator, developing a ground architecture for hybrid-electric vehicles, designing physics models from scratch, and more. Associate Tech Journalist Covering deep and emerging tech: semiconductors, quantum, robotics, space tech, telecom, drones and defence. Connect via socials below or email: [email protected]
Deepinder Goyal's LAT Aerospace makes defence push with Sharang Shakti acquisition. The aviation company LAT Aerospace, funded by Deepinder Goyal, has expanded into the defence tech industry through the acquisition of Sharang Shakti, an early-stage business. Along with its long-term goal of producing a civil aircraft platform, LAT Aerospace is making its first attempt at constructing indigenous defence capabilities, according to a LinkedIn post by Goyal. It is common to think of civil aviation and defence as two distinct industries, Goyal continued. However, control, navigation, perception, sensing, and autonomy all use the same basic technology stack, he added. Sharang Shakti's ongoing operations. Karan Goyal, Chirag Singla, Gaurav Kumar, Jitendra Singh, and Rishabh Choudhary, all of whom are alumni of IIT-Delhi, established Sharang Shakti in 2023. An air defence system that counters drones is being developed by this Gurugram-based company. It asserts that it is developing hard-kill interceptors that can physically destroy rogue drones and low C-SWaP radars that can detect micro-drones. The news follows Deepinder Goyal's resignation as Group CEO of Eternal, the parent company of Zomato, which occurred more than 30 days ago. According to Goyal, he made the choice because he wants to try out some crazy new concepts that aren't suitable for a publicly traded firm like Eternal. By acquiring these capabilities, LAT Aerospace intends to develop them internally and apply them in the defence and civil aviation sectors. Goyal's exploring new ideas. For the last twelve months, Goyal has been actively involved in a number of projects, such as LAT Aerospace and Continue Research, which focuses on lifespan. Additionally, he is considering launching a wearable device startup called Temple. In 2025, Goyal and Surobhi Das established LAT Aerospace with the intention of making regional air travel in India more accessible by high-frequency, low-cost, and demand-based services. The firm, which was then running under the radar, had $20 million (about INR 174 crore) invested in it by Goyal in early 2025. Although Das is the sole founder of LAT Aerospace, Goyal is an investor and non-executive co-founder. | Quick Shots | | - Deepinder Goyal-backed LAT Aerospace has acquired Sharang Shakti to enter defence technology. - The move marks LAT Aerospace's first step toward building indigenous defence capabilities. - Goyal highlighted that civil aviation and defence share common technologies like navigation, sensing, and autonomy. - Sharang Shakti was founded in 2023 by alumni of Indian Institute of Technology Delhi. - The Gurugram-based startup develops anti-drone systems, including hard-kill interceptors and low C-SWaP radars. - The acquisition follows Goyal's exit as Group CEO of Eternal Limited, formerly Zomato. | WIDGET: questionnaire | CAMPAIGN: Simple Questionnaire Must have tools for startups - recommended by startuptalky. * Convert Visitors into Leads- SeizeLead * Website Builder SquareSpace * Run your business Smoothly Systeme.io * Stock Images Shutterstock
Deepinder Goyal-backed aviation startup LAT Aerospace has acquired early-stage defence tech startup Sharang Shakti to enter the defence technology sector. Goyal described this as LAT Aerospace's first step towards building indigenous defence capabilities alongside its long-term civil aviation platform vision. Founded in 2023, Gurugram-based Sharang Shakti develops anti-drone air defence systems and featured in Inc42's November 2024 '30 Startups To Watch' list. LAT Aerospace plans to build shared technology capabilities in-house across autonomy, perception, sensing, navigation, guidance and control systems, deploying them in both defence and civil aviation sectors. Goyal noted that whilst civil aviation and defence are often viewed separately, they share core technology stacks.
Star Air raises first tranche of maiden funding round. Regional airline Star Air, part of the Sanjay Ghodawat Group, has raised Rs 150 crore ($16.9 million) in the first tranche of its Rs 350 crore maiden funding round. The round saw participation from a consortium of investors, including Micro Labs Ltd and Deepak Agarwal of Bikaji Foods, among others. This marks the airline's first external capital infusion since its inception. Founded in 2019, Star Air has carried over 2 million passengers to date and claims to be among the few profitable airlines in India. The company plans to use the fresh capital to expand its fleet and route network, strengthen its non-scheduled operator permit (NSOP) services, and scale up maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) operations. The company also plans to raise an additional Rs 200 crore by FY27 as part of its broader growth strategy. Star Air currently operates 11 aircraft, including Embraer E175 and E145 jets. The company connects 31 destinations across India. The airline aims to grow its fleet to 50 aircraft by 2030 as part of its regional expansion plan. The company said the funding will also support its goal of building an integrated aviation platform covering airline operations, MRO, cargo, and aviation training. Star Air's fundraising comes at a time when India's regional aviation sector is witnessing renewed investor interest, supported by rising passenger demand and the government's ongoing regional connectivity initiatives. Earlier this year, Akasa Air secured $125 million in a strategic investment round backed by PremjiInvest, 360 ONE Asset, and Claypond Capital. Further, LAT Aerospace, a pre-commercial regional aviation startup, raised around Rs 130.6 crore in seed funding to develop STOL (short take-off and landing) aircraft and related infrastructure.