Deepinder Goyal's Temple doubles valuation to $375M in 5 months
What's the story
Temple, a wearable tech start-up founded by Deepinder Goyal, the founder of Eternal, has launched an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) liquidity program. The move is aimed at rewarding some of its early employees. Under this new initiative, around 20 out of Temple's 200-220 employees will be eligible to sell up to 25% of their vested ESOPs.
Valuation increase
Rare ESOP liquidity event
The ESOP liquidity program values Temple at $375 million, nearly double the $190 million valuation at which it raised its seed round in February.
Such events are rare at early-stage start-ups and are usually done at a discount to the company's last funding valuation.
However, in Temple's case, the buyback is being executed at a higher valuation due to interest from prospective investors ahead of its next funding round.
Employee acknowledgment
Memo to employees
In a memo to all Temple employees, Goyal said, "We are seeing strong interest from external investors at a $500 million valuation. Before we close our next round, I want some of this value to reach the people who created it."
The statement highlights his commitment to acknowledging the contributions of his team members in creating value for the company.
Launch preparations
Commercial launch and partnerships
The announcement of the ESOP liquidity program comes just as Temple is gearing up for its commercial launch.
The start-up has partnered with Ethereal Machines and Zetwerk to manufacture its wearable devices.
These collaborations are a major step toward bringing Temple's innovative products to market and expanding its footprint in the wearable tech industry.
Shareholder details
Shareholding pattern
As per filings with the Registrar of Companies (RoC), Goyal owns about 28% of Temple, while employees own a collective stake of around 10% through ESOPs.
Among institutional investors, Steadview Capital is the largest shareholder with just over 5%, followed by Peak XV Partners with slightly more than 3%.
Other investors include Vy Capital, QLT Technology, Masada Lake Enterprises, and Zerodha founders Nithin and Nikhil Kamath's family office NKSquared.