Deepinder Goyal’s startup Temple, which is developing a wearable device designed to measure cerebral blood flow, has raised $54 million (Rs 493 crore) in a seed funding round. As a result of the investment, the company now carries a post-money valuation of $190 million, or approximately Rs 1,700 crore.
According to regulatory filings sourced from the Registrar of Companies, Temple attracted capital from leading investment firms such as Peak XV Partners, Steadview Capital, Dharana Capital, and Info Edge Ventures. In addition, more than 80 individual investors participated in the round, reflecting broad-based confidence in the company’s long-term vision.
Sharing details on social media, Goyal said that founder friends and early-stage Zomato investors made up the entire investor group and backed the project irrespective of its commercial outcome. More importantly, he highlighted that over 30 Temple employees invested their own money at the same valuation as external investors, signalling deep internal belief in the product and mission.
The list of individual backers includes several prominent startup founders such as Kunal Shah of Cred, Vijay Shekhar Sharma of Paytm, Nithin Kamath and Nikhil Kamath of Zerodha, Varun Alagh, Cars24 founders including CEO Vikram Chopra, podcaster Raj Shamani, and Urban Company cofounder Abhiraj Singh Bhal. Several current and former Eternal executives also joined the round, including CFO Akshant Goyal, district head Rahul Ganjoo, food delivery CEO Aditya Mangla, and the family office of former chief people officer Akriti Chopra.
Meanwhile, Goyal personally invested Rs 104 crore, accounting for 21% of the total funding. Following the transaction, he now holds a 28.5% stake in Temple, underlining his long-term commitment to the venture.
Earlier this month, Goyal stepped down as CEO of Eternal, the parent company of Zomato and Blinkit, with Albinder Dhindsa taking over the role. Subsequently, Goyal transitioned to vice chairman and announced plans to focus on higher-risk ventures across longevity and aerospace.
Besides Temple, he is backing the longevity research firm Continue with $25 million of his own capital. Notably, Temple emerged from the research work conducted at Continue. Goyal has also cofounded aerospace startup LAT Aerospace alongside former Zomato COO Surobhi Das.
Temple’s core product is a non-invasive wearable device worn on the temples that tracks blood flow in the brain. The technology builds on research exploring how gravity may influence human ageing. According to the underlying hypothesis, cerebral blood flow declines by up to 0.7% annually, leading to a cumulative drop of 20% to 40% between the ages of 20 and 80. Reduced blood flow to the brain, the research claims, correlates with nearly double the risk of mortality from all causes.
At the same time, Goyal announced an aggressive hiring drive, stating that Temple is building a high-precision performance-tracking wearable for elite athletes. The company claims the device will capture metrics that existing wearables cannot measure with comparable accuracy. Open roles span analog and electronics engineering, embedded systems, sensor algorithms, deep learning, computational neuroscience, computer vision, neuroimaging, machine learning, and product management, with an emphasis on hands-on design ownership using tools such as Figma.
With strong backing from founders, employees, and leading investors, Temple now moves into its next phase with both capital and conviction firmly in place.
