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The founder of Zomato, Deepinder Goyal, has covertly started his second big entrepreneurial project in a new business called Temple. Furthermore, the company on February 27, 2026, said it had raised ₹491 crore in both primary and secondary funding at a post-money valuation of 1,730 crore—one of the highest post-money valuations of an early-stage Indian startup to date.

The round, according to people close to the raise, included marquee investors such as Lightspeed Venture, Accel, Elevation Capital, and various high-net-worth individuals and family offices. The large percentage of the capital was through secondary sales, where the early employees and angels were able to cash in on a small part of their shares.

Although Temple has kept its product and its business model as a well-kept secret, according to industry sources, Temple provides its services in the place where consumer internet, fintech, and offline-to-online services meet—perhaps in the lifestyle, wellness, or community-driven vertical. The title of the company, Temple, has given rise to an idea of a potentially spiritual-technological angle or a high-end experience platform, even though official confirmation has not been given.

Temple has its founder and CEO personally led by Deepinder Goyal, who has since that point left day-to-day operations at Zomato and is instead pursuing new ideas. He is said to have put a good amount of his personal wealth in the venture, a good indication that he had a firm belief in it long-term.

The huge valuation at that early age is an indication of the trust of the investors in the proven ability of Goyal to develop category-defining consumer platforms in India. During his tenure, Zomato expanded to become a listed corporation with Blinkit and other verticals worth at least 20 billion dollars and a restaurant discovery application.

Temple will apply the new capital to product development, building capital (has been aggressively hiring in Bengaluru and Gurugram), and first-mover advantage. The firm has already composed an elite founding team that has been enticed into the company based on leading technology firms and consumer brands.

This round of funding makes Temple one of the wealthiest new-age startups in India, even prior to its launch into the public in 2026. Everyone is eager to know, as more information emerges, whether Deepinder Goyal will have the same sort of success that he had with Zomato with this unknown new venture.