Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal has announced that his new venture, Temple, has successfully closed its first funding round, a friends and family round that brought in $54 million, pushing the company’s post-money valuation to approximately $190 million.
What makes this round stand out is who wrote the cheques. Every single investor is either a close friend of the founder or an early backer of Zomato who trusted the vision enough to participate, regardless of whether Temple ever goes public.
Perhaps the most telling sign of confidence came from within the company itself. Over 30 Temple employees chose to invest their own money in this round at the same valuation as every other investor, with no special discount. No preferential terms. Just personal belief in what they are building.
