Deepinder Goyal teases big reveal on Temple, will explain 'why I left $35 billion Eternal for Temple'

Eternal founder Deepinder Goyal on Friday teased a detailed explanation of his decision to leave the company and pursue Temple, his health wearable venture, saying he will share his vision for the startup in a note later during the day.

Responding to questions about why he left a company he founded 18 years ago and which he described as being worth around $35 billion, Goyal said he would explain why he chose to pursue what he called a niche health wearable business.

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He said the note would address why he left Eternal, what Temple is building, the startup's vision statement and what it hopes to bring to humanity.

"I am going to tell you in 4 hours from now (drafting the note as we speak). Stay tuned," Goyal wrote in a post on X.

He also added a pointed postscript aimed at Indian doctors, saying those who are "holier-than-thou" could skip the announcement.

The post came almost a day after Goyal addressed a post to “concerned Indian doctors”, saying Temple had cost $30 million to develop, with $20 million coming from his personal funds. “If Temple were a scam, and any of what we said weren't true, people would know it in just a few days of using Temple,” he worte on X.

The Zomato founder also clarified that Temple is "not a medical device."

"Also, just to be clear because I am seeing a lot of "give me clinical evidence". Temple is a fitness tracker, and wellness device. We are not a medical device. If at some point, we clinically validate any of our metrics, we will let you know," he said.

Temple is 'not a scam'

Addressing the rage against Temple, Goyal asserted that "Temple is not a scam."

He noted that the company offers 14-day, no-questions-asked return, highlighting that American tech giant Apple also does not have similar offerings. "If the product doesn't work, it fails out of the gate and the company dies before recovering a tenth of its R&D," he added.

Selling a few thousand devices recovers a small fraction of this investment, he said, adding that a scam that pays nothing is not a scam anyone would run.

In his lengthy X post, the entrepreneur said that he left the role of Eternal CEO to "chase purpose with Temple."

"This is not about money. I have enough of it to last for generations. My incentives are fully aligned with getting the science right. I am not staking a reputation earned over 20 years on making a quick buck," he said.

Citing Whoop who shipping its band in 2015 and got its first published validation years later, Deepinder said most wearable companies start with internal studies but Temple holds itself to a higher standard. He said, "..pre-prints are a step prior to peer reviewed publications, and they are coming up."

Addressing health concerns around Temple, he said, "The most ground breaking features in Temple are not even public yet. And some of them, thankfully, have nothing to do with doctors."