Explained: Why has Temple kicked off a public fight between Deepinder Goyal and LiverDoc

The gloves are off. Zomato co-founder Deepinder Goyal is not holding back, but neither is hepatologist Dr Cyriac Abby Philips, popularly known as TheLiverDoc. The two seem to be in a war of words on X, and the topic of this debate is Goyal’s Rs 85,000 device, Temple.

The matter has escalated to the extent that Deepinder Goyal now plans to reveal why he created Temple in the first place. While Goyal plans to upload his note on starting Temple shortly, he took a dig at TheLiverDoc in his announcement post on X. "Stay tuned. PS – holier-than-thou Indian doctors can skip this lol," he wrote.

But this public fight began when Deepinder Goyal called out critics for their comments on Temple. “If Temple were a scam, and any of what we said weren’t true, people would know it in just a few days of using Temple,” he wrote. While he did not name Philips in particular, Goyal addressed the post to “concerned Indian doctors.” Deepinder Goyal also claimed that he has invested $20 million of his own money into the device’s development.

The Zomato co-founder insisted that the Temple team was confident about how the device worked. “We believe in our science, and the product is now valuable enough for people to pay for and use,” Goyal added. “Hope this addresses some or all of your concerns. If not, keep raging.” Dear Concerned Indian Doctors, I see your rage against Temple on X. I have a few points to make: 1. First and foremost, a business lesson: if Temple were a scam, and any of what we said weren't true, people would know it in just a few days of using Temple. We have 14-day, no-questions-asked returns (which even Apple doesn't offer in India). If the product doesn't work, it fails out of the gate and the company dies before recovering a tenth of its R&D. 2. We have already spent $30m building Temple, $20m out of which is my own money. Selling a few thousand devices recovers a small fraction of this investment. A scam that pays nothing is not a scam anyone would run. 3. I left the Eternal CEO role to chase purpose with Temple. This is not about money. I have enough of it to last for generations. My incentives are fully aligned with getting the science right. I am not staking a reputation earned over 20 years on making a quick buck. 4. Our employees bought into our round a few months ago. The round we're raising now is mostly our customers. Scams don't build that cap table. 5. Most wearable companies start with internal studies. Whoop shipped its band in 2015, and the first published validation followed a few years later. We hold ourselves to a higher standard; pre-prints are a step prior to peer reviewed publications, and they are coming up. 6. At some point you have to stick your neck out and say: we believe in our science, and the product is now valuable enough for people to pay for and use. We believe we are there. More validation continues in public. 7. We are confident that we are building something that the world is going to be positively astonished with. We stand by our science and our methods. Each of our claims is easily verifiable by individuals and institutions alike, and you will see a lot of independent studies come up on their own when the device becomes available to use. Last but not the least, the most ground breaking features in Temple are not even public yet. And some of them, thankfully, have nothing to do with doctors Hope this addresses some or all of your concerns. If not, keep raging— Deepinder Goyal (@deepigoyal) November 5, 2026

Dr Cyriac Abby Philips responded in kind. “As expected, he has written a word salad. This man has provided no real evidence or proof (of the device),” he wrote. “There is no our science and your science. But there is bad science, fringe science and science fraud and Team Temple, embraced all of these.” Philips also claimed that Goyal had blocked him on X.The founder of the wearable device Temple, Mr. Deepinder Goyal (who has blocked me on Twitter) has now put out an official statement regarding concerns raised by the medical community on the said device being a scam. As expected, he has written a word salad. This man has provided no real evidence or proof that his device, which he is selling for INR 85,000/- can measure and interpret brain flow from a superficial artery (superficial temporal artery - which is an extracranial artery - meaning a blood vessel placed entirely outside the skull, supplying blood to the side of the face, temple, and scalp regions). His own Science Lead (Avi Roy) has accepted that the fact that their device is not yet proven to measure brain flow or "entropy" as they claim on their website and additionally, has directly addressed concerns of poor methodology as well as statisitical misrepresentation, without respond to clear evidence of data falsification in their pre-print papers. Other wearables like Whoop (which he cited) measured and validated exactly what the wearable can measure within limits of human anatomy and physiology. Temple is overdoing it and defrauding its potential customers. The device can only measure blood flow and flushing to the face in humans and has ansolutely NOTHING to do with the brain as they claim. This is the issue, not what can happen in the future. The device itself fails its primary objective. There is no our science and your science. But there is bad science, fringe science and science fraud and Team Temple, embraced all of these. Temple device is a scam. There is no doubt about it. The question is however, how long can this man and his team keep defrauding people under the garb of "we are spending millions for you" or "we are trying our best" or "we are taking the risk" kind of responses? These farts in the windtunnel responses are not what is expected from a company who's website claims "solid science". There is solid fraud though - pathetic little businessmen.— TheLiverDoc (@theliverdoc) November 5, 2026

But how has the situation got to this point? Why are medical professionals like Philips calling out the Temple? Let’s break down this entire beef for you.advertisementDeepinder Goyal’s Temple claims

Going by claims made by Deepinder Goyal and the Temple team, the wearable is unlike a smartwatch or a smart ring. Temple is a small bean-shaped device that sits on the side of your forehead.

The unique selling point, or USP, of the Temple is BrainFlow. Goyal says that the device can monitor changes in blood flow to the brain. “Until now, you could only measure it in a clinical setting, in a single snapshot,” Deepinder Goyal said on X previously. “Temple measures it continuously, in real time, while you live your life.”

There’s also entropy, which is said to be a real-time score of how hard your body is working to sustain itself.” 1 is the deepest rest we've ever recorded. We've only seen fit, experienced meditators touch it, for fleeting moments deep in practice,” Goyal wrote on X. “250 is the highest we've seen in elite athletes at the peak of their output and flow.”TheLiverDoc questions Temple’s claims

While Goyal and his team have made claims on what Temple does, not all are convinced. TheLiverDoc has accused Temple of being “desi Theranos.” Theranos was an American healthcare startup founded by Elizabeth Holmes in 2015. The startup shut down for making misleading claims over its Edison device. Holmes was sentenced to 11 years in prison.

On social media, TheLiverDoc shared a breakdown of why he believes Deepinder Goyal’s claims were false, going as far as calling Goyal “Atma Nirbhar Bharat Elizabeth Holmes.”For those asking for the detailed post on Desi Theranos and Atma Nirbhar Bharat Elizabeth Holmes, here it is in detailed slides #scam #Temple #TechNews https://t.co/UxpurbZWHv— TheLiverDoc (@theliverdoc) November 4, 2026

In the post, he alleged that Temple was simply tracking blood flow on the foreskin and not inside the brain. "They cheated. This is data fraud," one slide said. "They manipulated signals coming off the skin to look like it came from brain tissue."

While Temple has shared pre-print research studies on the device’s effectiveness, critics have questioned the studies as peer-reviews are still pending. TheLiverDoc also accused the company of poor methodology and statistical misrepresentation in its pre-print papers.Deepinder Goyal says Temple not a medical device

This brings us back to today. In his long post, Goyal claimed that Temple is not a medical device. “Temple is a fitness tracker, and wellness device. We are not a medical device. If at some point, we clinically validate any of our metrics, we will let you know,” he wrote.

Though Goyal previously said that “Temple tracks heart rate more accurately than standard-wear ECG chest straps in Zones 4 & 5.”

TheLiverDoc took a dig at this comment, questioning the Rs 85,000 price tag. “Now he claims it is just a "fitness tracker" and has nothing to do with the brain? Wow,” he wrote. “So $900 for a mere fitness tracker made in India with different claims?”Add-on: Now he claims it is just a "fitness tracker" and has nothing to do with the brain? Wow. So $900 for a mere fitness tracker made in India with different claims? https://t.co/TmYZUWIqEs— TheLiverDoc (@theliverdoc) November 5, 2026

Philips added that Temple’s science lead, Avi Roy, had acknowledged that the device was not yet proven to measure brain blood flow or “entropy.” The health expert claimed that no matter what Goyal said, the device could not live up to its promises. “This is the issue, not what can happen in the future. The device itself fails its primary objective,” he said.

While this beef on X is unlikely to subside, at least for now, Temple is open for pre-orders. Those interested can book their device via the official website. Temple comes in six colour options – True Gold, Rose Gold, Dark Mirror, Deep Blue, Real Jade, and Purple Funk.- EndsAlso Read | Deepinder Goyal says Temple not a scam, have spent over Rs 188 crore building itAlso Read | Deepinder Goyal says Temple wearable beats Apple Watch in heart rate accuracy testAlso Read | Temple pre-orders are live in India: Price, features and how to book

Armaan loves to keep an eye on everything happening in the world of tech and AI. You will find him testing new gadgets, exploring the latest LLMs and making sense of the emerging tech. When not working around tech, he will be exploring new music or catching up on motorsport or aviation.