Deepinder Goyal calls for engineers to build India’s first gas turbine engine at his startup, LAT Aerospace

Deepinder Goyal has invited engineers to apply for a specialised propulsion research team in his Bengaluru-based startup, LAT Aerospace, to build gas turbine engines entirely in India.

LAT Aerospace aims to make air travel as smooth as the railways or bus network.

The Zomato boss launched the startup with former Zomato COO Surobhi Das to build low-cost short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft.

Goyal has invested $20 million in the startup and is a non-executive cofounder at the company, with Das running the business operations.

India has tried building gas turbine engines before and has come close, but LAT aims to build a network of high-frequency, low-cost, 24-seater, STOL, medium-haul aircraft to get past the finish line.

Zomato boss posts on X

Deepinder Goyal wrote on the social media platform X that the team’s goal is to design and develop lightweight, efficient, and flight-ready gas turbine engines from scratch.

He mentioned in the post that this startup is not a part of Eternal.

Reacting to Goyal’s post on LinkedIn, co-founder Surobhi Das said the company wants to build engines from scratch.

"Since we started LAT, this is all we've heard — "Engines are the holy grail, more complex than the aircraft itself. Now, we want to build one from scratch. Lightweight. Efficient. Flight-ready. Made in India."

Das has previously worked in various capacities with Zomato (including the position of COO).

LAT Aerospace is looking for people who have experience in building turbines, rotors, or similar control systems. 

Through this opportunity, Goyal said that the startup is giving engineers the ‘freedom to think’ along with the ability to “build, break, and repeat.”

“If you’ve ever built turbines, rotors, control systems — or anything close — and want to be part of something that could one day, rewrite history, write to us at [email protected],” Goyal wrote in his post.

LAT Aerospace's research centre is equipped with labs for combustion, turbomachinery, thermal systems, and materials, providing engineers with a space to innovate. 

“Also, this team will be led by engineers. No waiting around for approvals from ‘business’ people. No chasing slides or meetings. Just hands-on problem solving, running bench tests, working with suppliers, building hardware from scratch — and pushing the limits of design and physics every day,” he added.

Goyal admitted that the innovation would not be easy, but if they could do it, then it had the potential to change ‘everything’.

“It won’t be easy. But if it works, it changes everything. A full engine stack, built locally. Powering STOL aircraft. UAVs. Remote connectivity. Self-reliance,” he said in his post.

India has tried building gas turbine engines before. And we’ve come close.

At LAT, we want to get past the finish line. So we’re putting together a propulsion research team in Bangalore, focused solely on building gas turbine engines from scratch. Lightweight. Efficient.… pic.twitter.com/zrXFUxeGEh

— Deepinder Goyal (@deepigoyal) July 31, 2025

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