NEXT STEP DESK

Deepinder Goyal, the founder of India-based food delivery company Zomato, has raised $54 million in an initial funding round for his new wearable technology startup, Temple, at a post-money valuation of approximately $190 million. Goyal said in a social media post that the funding round was structured as a “friends-and-family” raise, with capital coming primarily from founder peers and early-stage investors in his network. He also noted that more than 30 Temple employees invested their own money at the same valuation, with no discount.

According to a report by Economic Times, regulatory filings show that investors in the round include Peak XV Partners, Steadview Capital, Dharana Capital, Info Edge Ventures, and more than 80 individual backers. Goyal stepped down as CEO of Eternal, the parent company of Zomato and Blinkit, in February and moved into a vice-chairman role, as per the ET report.

Temple is a wearable technology company that describes itself as focused on performance and precision monitoring. In a recent hiring post on X, Goyal stated that the core product is a performance-tracking wearable aimed at athletes, adding that the company is recruiting engineers across hardware, embedded systems, sensor design, and advanced software roles.