Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal has poured $20 million of his own capital into Temple, an Indian consumer tech hardware venture that has absorbed $30 million in total development costs.

Goyal, who stepped away from his role as Eternal chief executive to focus on the business, defended the wearable brand after medical practitioners and online reviewers questioned its scientific backing.

Unacademy co-founder Gaurav Munjal gave the product high-profile backing this week, reporting that he wore the head-mounted monitor for roughly 30 to 40 nights. Munjal found the hardware stayed secure during workouts and sleep, while outperforming rival fitness bands such as Whoop in comfort and automatic chewing detection.

Temple tracks sleep stages, mental strain through an entropy metric, and jaw motion to record food consumption. The hardware monitors chewing patterns directly, sending prompt notifications after meals to log nutrition without requiring manual initial entries from the wearer.

Hardware comfort remains the central pitch for the headpiece. Munjal noted the unit is light enough that users forget they are wearing it, though he cautioned that the current companion software lags behind competitors on interface design. The industrial design also draws attention in public settings, frequently forcing users to explain the headpiece during business meetings.

Goyal countered public scepticism by offering a 14-day return policy without conditions, contrasting the retail guarantee directly against stricter hardware sales policies in India. The refund term gives consumers immediate recourse while the venture readies its initial research findings for wider release.

Early stage hardware development carries steep cash-burn risks for Asian tech executives stepping away from established software platforms.

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