'Quit Using Zomato To Lose Body Fat': Internet Reacts To Deepinder Goyal's Temple Hiring Criteria

Social media users had a field day after Zomato founder and Eternal Vice Chairman, Deepinder Goyal, announced a peculiar hiring criterion for various engineering roles at his health-tech startup, Temple. Goyal said he was on the lookout for ideal candidates who were not only engineers but also athletes, adding that applicants with less than 16 per cent body fat for men and 26 per cent for women were only eligible to apply.

"We are building for people who push their bodies to the edge. We want to be those people, not just serve them. So only people who take fitness seriously, and have body fat <16 per cent (men) and 26 per cent (women) should apply," said Goyal.

Goyal also announced that applicants who currently do not fit the criteria but were willing to reach the desired body mass in three months could apply for the role. However, they would remain on probation until they hit the physical targets.

As the recruitment ad went viral, social media users were amused by the hiring criteria, with some joking that applicants must uninstall Zomato, Goyal's previous venture, in order to hit the body mass target.

"Fun fact- to get under 16 per cent body fat for men, they need to quit using the Zomato app," said one user, while another added: "People who order from Zomato are automatically disqualified."

A third commented, "We really get body fat as a hiring criterion before GTA 6." Another added, "First in my bloodline to lose a job opportunity over body fat percentage."

fun fact- to get under 16% body fat for men, they need to quit using the zomato app.

— Dr. Anshul Sadhale (@AnshulGains) February 27, 2026

People who order from Zomato are automatically disqualified. https://t.co/kCe7DRLeCD

— Nitin Verma (@itsnitinverma) February 27, 2026

Meanwhile, a fitness coach offered their expertise to help applicants hit the desired body fat percentage to apply for the job profile.

"If you are at 25% body fat and want to apply to the roles mentioned here? Give me your 10 weeks. I will get you ready for the interview," the user wrote.

If you are at 25% body fat and want to apply to the roles mentioned here? Give me your 10 weeks.

I will get you ready for the interview. https://t.co/YA9uLSR7dv

— Chirag Barjatya (@chiragbarjatya) February 27, 2026

"Imagine being the recruiter sharing rejection update to candidates," joked another user.

Imagine being the recruiter sharing rejection update to candidates 😭

“Hey, technically you're very strong. Great depth in embedded systems, solid HW bring-up experience, However after careful evaluation, we feel there's a slight gap in… embedded abs.

Unfortunately, the team… https://t.co/5oYNYzCkpm

— Akash Singh | Hiring top tier SDEs (@akkiex007) February 27, 2026

Funds Raised For Temple

Hours after posting the recruitment ad, Goyal informed that Temple had raised $54 million from founder friends and early Zomato backers, at a post-money valuation of about $190 million. More than 30 employees participated at the same valuation, he said.

Goyal is leading the funding round, followed by Steadview Capital. Other investors include Peak XV Partners, InfoEdge Ventures, and Dharana Capital, alongside angel investors such as Vijay Shekhar Sharma of Paytm, Kunal Shah of CRED, Nithin Kamath and Nikhil Kamath of Zerodha.