Deepinder Goyal, one of India’s most prominent tech entrepreneurs, is preparing to launch his first major venture after stepping down as CEO of Eternal Ltd., the parent company of Zomato and Blinkit. His new startup, Temple, is developing a premium wearable device designed to monitor the body’s metabolic state in real time.
Speaking in an interview from his New Delhi farmhouse, the 43-year-old billionaire said the bean-shaped wearable could hit the market within the next six to 12 months.
“We will launch it as a wellness device with peer-reviewed studies and everything,” Goyal said, adding that the launch timeline could range from six months to a year.
A Wearable Designed for the Forehead
The device, called Temple, derives its name from the part of the body where it is worn—the side of the forehead.
According to Goyal, the idea originated as a personal research project to better understand cerebral blood flow. During the development process, his team claims to have identified a new biomarker, which he refers to as “entropy.”
He says this metric closely correlates with the body’s metabolic rate and can provide insights into stress, meditation, sleep quality, exercise recovery and overall physiological performance.
However, the scientific claims behind the technology have not yet been independently validated, and the device has not received medical regulatory approval.
Premium Product for High Performers
Temple is expected to retail for approximately $1,000, positioning it firmly in the premium wellness segment.
Rather than targeting the mass market, Goyal said the device is intended for elite users, including athletes, entrepreneurs and corporate executives.
“I’m not building Temple for everybody. Actually, I’m building it only for myself,” he said. “Business is a side effect of what we’re doing for ourselves.”
Challenging Existing Wearables
The wearable technology market is already dominated by smartwatches and smart rings capable of monitoring heart rate, sleep patterns, recovery and physical activity.
Goyal believes Temple offers a more direct measure of the body’s functioning.
“Heart rate was supposed to be the proxy for metabolic rate. We found the real thing,” he said.
If validated through peer-reviewed research, Temple could offer a different approach to health monitoring by focusing on metabolic activity rather than indirect physiological indicators.
Backing High-Risk Innovation
Temple is one of several ambitious projects Goyal is pursuing after stepping away from day-to-day leadership at Eternal.
He is also personally investing $20 million in LAT Aerospace, a startup working on affordable short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft designed to connect smaller towns and regional airstrips across India.
Despite acknowledging the enormous technical and regulatory hurdles, Goyal remains optimistic about the long-term vision.
“It’s a very hard project. I have 0.1% expectation that it will work,” he said.
He believes such an aviation network could decentralize economic growth by improving connectivity between cities, towns and rural regions.
Reinvention at the Core
Reflecting on Eternal’s future, Goyal said he wants the company to continuously evolve instead of becoming defined by its current businesses.
“The point of Eternal is to make sure the DNA keeps evolving,” he said. “The moment you think that you made it, you’re dead.”
Goyal co-founded Foodiebay in 2008 as a restaurant discovery platform before rebranding it as Zomato in 2010. The company later expanded into food delivery, listed on the stock market in 2021, acquired Grofers—renamed Blinkit—in 2022, and was subsequently rebranded as Eternal Ltd. as it diversified into multiple consumer businesses.