Temple is not made for India': Deepinder Goyal responds to criticism in Diwali

Synopsis

Goyal said the company did not want people to support Temple simply because it was an Indian startup, adding “We don’t need/want nationalist support.”

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Eternal founder Deepinder Goyal has once again pushed back against criticism of his wearable device Temple, saying it is not designed for India and that his company expects no more than 1% of its sales to come from the country. “It’s made for the world,” he says.

In a series of posts on X on Sunday, Goyal addressed criticism of Temple's pricing, scientific claims and positioning. This comes after days of social media backlash over the device and questions raised by doctors about its claims around brain health, including by Indian hepatologist Dr. Cyriac Abby Philips, who is popularly known as TheLiverDoc on social media platforms.

Goyal said the company did not want people to support Temple simply because it was an Indian startup, adding “We don’t need/want nationalist support.”

Addressing questions around the scientific evidence backing Temple, Goyal said customers were free to wait for peer-reviewed evidence before making a purchase and were under no obligation to believe the company's claims.

“Nobody is forcing you to buy. Making announcements is our right; and if we overclaim anywhere, we will inevitably fall into regulatory trouble everywhere in the world,” he said.

Responding to criticism from doctors and other members of the medical community, Goyal said that Temple was a fitness and AI device and not a medical product.

He clarified that Temple was not proven to diagnose or prevent any disease and was not intended to replace consultations with doctors.

Goyal also said he would publish a detailed note on how Temple calculates Brain Flow, its applications and its limitations on Monday (November 9).

“Social media is not the regulator for Temple. Wherever we need regulatory clearances, we will have them before we make any claim needing them,” he said.

In the corresponding post, Goyal addressed speculation around online support for Temple, saying he had never asked anyone to post in support of his businesses in exchange for money or otherwise.

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