Weeks after stepping down as CEO of food delivery service Zomato and its parent Eternal, Indian entrepreneur Deepinder Goyal raises $54 million for his wearable startup Temple, as part of his shift towards more “high-risk exploration and experimentation.”
On Friday, Goyal announced on X that Temple secured funds in a friends-and-family round from founder friends and early Zomato backers, with a post-money valuation of around $190 million. Over 30 employees participated at the same valuation, he added.
Goyal leads the funding round, followed by Steadview Capital according to regulatory filings. Other investors include Peak XV Partners, Info Edge Ventures, Dharana Capital, and angel investors such as Vijay Shekhar Sharma of Paytm, Kunal Shah of CRED, Nithin and Nikhil Kamath of Zerodha, along with current and former Eternal executives like Akshant Goyal, Aditya Mangla, Kunal Swarup, Akriti Chopra, and Rahul Ganjoo.
In January, Goyal handed over the CEO role of Zomato and Eternal to Albinder Dhindsa, leader of the quick-commerce unit Blinkit. This transition marked a significant shift for Goyal after nearly 20 years leading the company he co-founded in 2008.
Temple represents this shift, focusing on creating a high-performance wearable for elite athletes, a field Goyal believes is ripe for innovation.
In a conversation with podcaster Raj Shamani, Goyal described Temple’s wearable as a sensor that tracks cerebral blood flow continuously from the wearer’s temple.
Goyal posted on X that Temple aims to develop “the ultimate wearable for elite performance athletes,” claimed to track metrics that existing devices cannot. He also announced hiring efforts in embedded systems, computational neuroscience, and brain-computer interface engineering.
The startup enters a competitive wearables market among established firms like Whoop, Oura, and Garmin, with the challenge of differentiating its technology.
Temple is part of a broader shift in Goyal’s investment strategy. In October 2025, he committed $25 million to Continue Research, exploring lifespan extension, and co-founded LAT Aerospace, recently expanding into defense tech with Sharang Shakti’s acquisition.
Goyal first rose to prominence at Zomato, co-founded with Pankaj Chaddah, building it into one of India’s leading food delivery services before stepping down earlier this year.
Chaddah left Zomato in 2018, while Goyal led through significant acquisitions, like Uber Eats’ India business in 2020 and Blinkit’s $568 million purchase in 2022.
Previously, Goyal invested in health and fitness startups, including Ultrahuman, competing with Oura’s smart ring, highlighting his growing interest in performance and health technology.
Goyal declined to comment further on Temple.