Temple opens early access, hints at investor entry in Zomato founder's latest bet

Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal has begun rolling out early access to his wearable startup Temple, starting with a tightly controlled group of users rather than a broad launch.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Goyal said the first batch of devices is ready but will be distributed selectively.

“Hello world. The first 100 Temples are ready to ship. We’re now inviting athletes, scientists, founders, doctors, creators, and individuals who care deeply about their physical and cognitive health to be the founding users of Temple.”

The company is positioning this phase as a feedback-driven rollout, not a commercial release.

“After you apply, we will get in touch with the selected few who we think will provide us the most critical feedback, and help us shape Temple’s future.”

Goyal also indicated that early users could get more than just access to the device, hinting at financial participation in the company’s next phase.

“You could also get a chance to invest in the next round of funding for Temple.”

For early access, interested users are directed to a form on Temple’s website that collects basic personal details such as name, email address and phone number, along with links to social media profiles and a short note explaining their interest in the product.

The company had earlier secured about $54 million (around ₹493 crore) in seed funding in February, at a valuation of roughly $190 million (about ₹1,700 crore), indicating strong early backing despite the product still being in a controlled testing stage.

Hiring for a performance-first culture

Alongside product development, Goyal has also outlined a hiring approach that ties closely to physical fitness benchmarks, signalling the kind of culture he intends to build at Temple.

“If you’re not there yet but will commit to getting there in three months, you can apply too; but you’ll be on probation until you are,” he wrote.

The hiring criteria, which is unusual for a hardware and neuroscience-led startup, suggest that Temple is being built with a specific user base in mind. Rather than targeting the broader fitness wearable market, the company appears to be focusing on high-performance users, with an emphasis on individuals who align with that ethos both professionally and physically.