LAT Aerospace Buys Sharang Shakti: LAT Aerospace, the new aviation company backed by Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal, has bought a small defence robotics startup called Sharang Shakti. The startup is based in Gurugram and works on early stage defence robotics. This is the first company that LAT Aerospace has acquired since it started building its technology base.
On February 24, Goyal shared the news on social media. He called this deal “our first move toward building indigenous defence capabilities alongside our long-term mission of developing next-generation civil aviation platforms from India”
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Before this, LAT Aerospace was mostly known for its idea to improve regional air travel. In 2025, the company talked about building small aircraft to connect tier 2 and tier 3 cities. The plan was to operate flights more often and at lower cost. The aircraft are being designed as hybrid electric STOL planes, which means they can take off and land on short runways. The aim is to make flying between smaller cities easier and cheaper.
Now with the Sharang Shakti deal, the company is clearly expanding its vision. It wants to build strong in house skills in areas like autonomy and sensing. These systems are important in both defence and civil aircraft.
Why Defence and Civil Aviation are Connected?
LAT Aerospace has acquired Sharang Shakti, an early-stage defence robotics startup based in Gurgaon.
This is our first move toward building indigenous defence capabilities alongside our long-term mission of developing next-generation civil aviation platforms from India.
Civil… pic.twitter.com/10svmd25sg
— Deepinder Goyal (@deepigoyal) February 24, 2026
Many people think defence and civil aviation are totally different fields. Goyal does not agree. He explained that both areas use similar core systems. These include “autonomy, perception, sensing, navigation, guidance, and control systems”.
He also wrote, “By bringing Sharang Shakti into LAT, we are building these capabilities in-house, from first principles, with the intent to deploy them across both defence and civil programs over time”
This approach is called vertical integration. Many global deep tech and aerospace startups follow this model. It helps companies protect their ideas and move faster with innovation. However, LAT Aerospace has not shared financial details of the deal. It has also not explained exactly how Sharang Shakti will be merged into its operations.
The move into defence robotics suggests that LAT Aerospace is thinking long term. By investing in autonomous systems and robotics, it’s preparing for advanced and next generation aircraft in the future. These technologies can be used in military drones, smart aircraft systems, and even modern passenger planes.
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Personal Shift for Deepinder Goyal
He recently stepped down as Group CEO of Eternal, the parent company of Zomato. He said this decision gives him more freedom to work on risky ideas outside a listed company.
In his letter he explained his thinking clearly. “Of late, I have found myself drawn to a set of new ideas that involve significantly higher-risk exploration and experimentation. These are the kinds of ideas that are better pursued outside a public company like Eternal,” he said.
He also mentioned that over time he became more interested in projects that carry higher risk and more experimentation. In his view, such bold ideas do not fit well inside a public company structure.
Many details are still not known.
