Deepinder Goyal, founder of Zomato-parent Eternal, has said he will publicly explain why he quit as group CEO to work on his wearable startup Temple, in a note he promised within four hours.
Goyal posted the teaser on X on Friday. "A lot of you have pinged me to ask - why are you doing Temple?" he wrote, adding that people had asked why he left a company worth about $35 billion, by his own estimate, which he founded 18 years ago, "to chase a niche health wearable".
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A lot of you have pinged me to ask - why are you doing Temple? Why did you leave a ~$35b company you founded 18 years ago to chase a niche health wearable? This doesn't sound rational. Why did I leave Eternal? What are we building at Temple? What's our vision statement? What do we have in store for humanity? I am going to tell you in 4 hours from now (drafting the note as we speak). Stay tuned. PS – holier-than-thou Indian doctors can skip this lol.
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— Deepinder Goyal (@deepigoyal) November 6, 2026
What He Promised
He listed the questions he plans to answer: why he left Eternal, what Temple is building, what its vision statement is and "what do we have in store for humanity". He said he was "drafting the note as we speak".
He ended with a dig at his critics. "PS - holier-than-thou Indian doctors can skip this lol," he wrote.
ALSO READ | Deepinder Goyal's 12-Word Response To Techie's 'Never Build A Healthcare Startup In India' Comment
How He Left Eternal
Goyal announced on January 21 that he was stepping down as group CEO and managing director, effective February 1. Blinkit CEO Albinder Dhindsa took over. Goyal said he would stay on the board as vice chairman, subject to shareholder approval.
In his letter to shareholders, he said he wanted to pursue high-risk, exploratory ideas that did not fit within a public company, according to reports. Reports said he was raising $50 million for Temple from early Zomato backers.
What Is Temple?
Temple is a wearable worn near the temple that is designed to track cerebral blood flow, which the company calls "Brain Flow". It opened for pre-orders on November 1 at Rs 85,000.
The Backdrop
The post follows days of controversy over the device. Doctors have questioned the science behind Temple's claims, including hepatologist Cyriac Abby Philips, who called it a "Desi Theranos". On Thursday, Goyal wrote that Temple had cost $30 million to build, including $20 million of his own money, and that peer-reviewed publications were coming.
Unacademy co-founder Gaurav Munjal has described the device as having "true potential" after several weeks of use.
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