Unstop Founder Shelves Temple Purchase Over Goyal’s ‘Not Made for India’ Comment

A change of heart over a wearable

Ankit Aggarwal, who leads the Delhi-based talent platform Unstop, has said he dropped plans to purchase Temple, a health wearable from Zomato co-founder Deepinder Goyal. The reversal came not from the device’s cost or the criticism it has drawn online, but from a line Goyal posted on X on November 8, describing the product as built for the world rather than for India.

Aggarwal laid out his reasoning in a LinkedIn post, stressing that the decision was his own and not a recommendation to others.

Why the remark struck a nerve

In his account, Aggarwal had been prepared to accept the early pushback and the steep price. He said he planned to wait for genuine user experiences and performance data before forming a final view. Goyal’s comment changed that calculation, because it suggested that an Indian-founded company, backed by domestic investors, regarded the home market as marginal.

Aggarwal pointed to global players such as Apple, which sells its Watch Ultra in India, and Whoop, which formally entered the country in 2024. He argued that these firms actively court Indian customers and that premium trackers already attract Indian buyers willing to spend comparable sums over several years.

Goyal’s position

Goyal’s post aimed to answer growing online debate about Temple’s premium pricing and its specialised positioning. He estimated that India would account for less than 1 percent of sales and said the company wanted to compete on merit internationally rather than rely on nationalist backing. He also argued that substantial research and development had gone into the hardware, which he cited as the basis for its price.

Temple has also faced scrutiny from some doctors over its scientific claims. Aggarwal noted that Goyal has described the product as a fitness device and has not made medical claims for it.

Background

Aggarwal’s post highlighted several facts that fed his view: Temple was taking pre-orders in India, Indian creators and athletes had been involved in promoting it, and local investors were associated with the venture. Against that backdrop, he said the company’s statement that India would be a small market was the factor that led him to step back.

What next

Aggarwal has said he will neither buy nor endorse the device, while leaving the choice to others, including those persuaded by the scientific case for it. Whether Temple’s India strategy changes, or whether more buyers respond to the debate in a similar way, has not been stated.