Also in the letter:
■ ETtech Done Deals
■ Manus AI frenzy
■ Coinbase’s greenlight
Former Zomato executive teams up with Deepinder Goyal for new aerospace startup
Deepinder Goyal and former Zomato COO Surobhi Das
Deepinder Goyal is investing $20 million in LAT Aerospace, a startup founded by Surobhi Das and the Zomato CEO himself. This marks Goyal’s second venture outside of Zomato, alongside his work on a health-focused personal venture.
Driving the news: While Goyal will take on a non-executive role, Das, a former Zomato COO, will lead the startup’s operations. “Both Das and Goyal are founders of the startup, but Goyal’s involvement will involve making investments and mentoring the startup in a non-executive role,” a person in the know said.
Game plan: Currently in stealth mode, the startup plans to build low-cost short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft with a capacity of up to 24 seats, focused on regional air travel within the country.
LAT Aerospace is in talks to raise $50 million in seed funding and is looking to hire engineers across disciplines such as aerodynamics, material sciences and hybrid propulsion systems.
Jargon buster: STOL aircraft—different from air taxis—are typically smaller and require a shorter runway length to operate. “These aircraft will take off and land in compact ‘air-stops’ that are no bigger than a parking lot, with no need for complex airport infrastructure,” a person aware of the developments explained.
Also Read: Zomato gets shareholder nod for changing parent firm’s name to Eternal
Rapido in talks to challenge Swiggy and Zomato in food delivery space
After mounting a challenge to the ride-hailing market leaders, bike-taxi startup Rapido is eyeing a slice of the duopolistic food delivery sector.
Tell me more: Senior Rapido executives have engaged with restaurant owners and are developing a business model to challenge the current commission structures imposed by Zomato and Swiggy. Interestingly, Swiggy led a $180 million funding round in Rapido in April 2022 at a $830 million valuation.
Why it matters: Rapido is seeking newer avenues for growth after surpassing $1 billion in annualised gross merchandise value (GMV) from ride-hailing. Meanwhile, India’s food delivery sector is experiencing a slowdown, with restaurants and aggregators sparring over commission rates.
Also Read: Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal on food delivery slowdown, quick commerce burn and more
Zoom out: Outside India and China, where food delivery has largely become a duopoly, most major economies have seen consolidation into three or four players, with one dominant market leader, according to a Bernstein report.
Also Read: Rapido raises $200 million in funding led by WestBridge; valuation hits $1.1 billion
ETtech Done Deals
Vishal Gupta, partner, Bessemer Venture Partners
Bessemer Venture Partners closes $350 million India-dedicated fund: Bessemer Venture Partners (BVP) closed its second dedicated India fund at $350 million (approximately Rs 3,051 crore), aiming to invest in startups across artificial intelligence (AI), software-as-a-service (SaaS), fintech, digital health, consumer brands, and cybersecurity domains.
Industrial analytics startup Infinite Uptime raises $35 million: Infinite Uptime, which helps manufacturers reduce maintenance downtime at their facilities, has raised $35 million in a fresh funding round led by Avataar Ventures. The company’s founder and CEO, Raunak Bhinge, said the funds will be deployed for its planned expansion in the US market.
Energy storage startup AmpereHour Energy secures $5 million: AmpereHour Energy has raised $5 million (around Rs 43.6 crore) from climate-focused fund Avaana Capital, with participation from UC Impower, the climate and sustainability-focused fund of early-stage VC Capria, along with some existing angel investors.
Other Top Stories By Our Reporters
Manus AI invite codes selling for a fortune on social media: The frenzy around the new Chinese AI agent Manus has created a trading market on social media and second-hand sites. Users with beta testing codes are selling them for over 50,000 yuan, while the waitlist exceeds 1 million.
Glas Trust approaches NCLAT seeking to be heard in Aakash case: Glas Trust, representing Byju’s US lenders, has requested the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) to grant a hearing in a case involving coaching centre operator Aakash Institute, where the edtech firm’s parent, Think & Learn, holds a minority stake.
Coinbase registers with FIU to offer crypto trading services in India: The US-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has registered with India’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), which will allow the company to offer crypto trading services in India.
AI unicorn Motive to hire 300 engineers in India for AI, product teams: AI-powered fleet management startup Motive has announced plans to increase its headcount in India by enhancing its product, engineering, and R&D teams.
Global Picks We Are Reading
■ DOGE’s plans to replace humans with AI are already under way (The Atlantic)
■ Investors want a piece of DeepSeek. Its founder says not now. (Wall Street Journal)
■ ‘Garbage’ to blame Ukraine for massive X outage, experts say (BBC)
