Spiritual tech startups go global as demand for virtual services soars

For many Indians living abroad, being connected to their roots, and engaging in spiritual practices has been a challenge. Factors like distance, different time zones, and the inability to be physically present has created barriers. 

But now, users have turned to digital platforms to stay connected with their culture and faith. These platforms are bridging the gap by providing access to spiritual services, guidance, and community in ways that were previously difficult for many. Users can now virtually visit their favourite temple and consult an astrologer in real-time. 

Spiritual apps such as Astrotalk and AppsForBharat, which offer astrology and devotion tech services, are riding the wave by gaining significant traction, and have also managed to raise funding and see substantial revenue growth. 

And now, both these apps have a shared ambition—expanding to international markets where they are witnessing growing demand for their offerings. 

Astrotalk provides services like online astrology consultations, an ecommerce store that sells charms and bracelets, and an e-pooja booking platform; while AppsForBharat’s flagship product, the Sri Mandir app, can transport devotees virtually to a temple of their choice, help organise poojas and offerings, and provides an interactive space where devotees can talk and chant with pandits. 

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Global push for Indian spirituality startups

Prashant Sachan, Founder, AppsForBharat, observed that while many essential services had transitioned online, the realm of devotion remained rooted in traditional practices. Sachan identified this gap and decided to merge technology with spirituality, allowing individuals to engage in their religious practices more conveniently.

“Right now, we are focusing a lot on our international business. We had not spent a lot of dollars on international marketing in the first 4-5 years of our company’s business. But over the last one and a half years, we have expanded aggressively abroad. We are doing a lot of marketing in different countries, so we are growing at a much faster pace there,” says Anmol Jain, Co-founder of Astrotalk.

The company is targeting 6X revenue from international services in a year, says Jain. Currently, 30% of Astrotalk’s revenue on services business comes from outside India.

Similarly, Sachan says, AppsForBharat has been receiving requests from Indians living abroad to expand the app’s services to other countries. The company opened its services to international customers between October and November last year. 

Radha (name changed on request for anonymity) from Mauritius, who is now living in Canada, has been using the Sri Mandir app for two months now. She says she was going through many personal problems. After seeing Sri Mandir’s advertisement on Facebook, she decided to try out the app. She was connected to an astrologer who was able to help her deal with her personal problems and also suggested poojas to perform. 

“The astrologer has been working with me and the personnel have always been there to help. Since the entire process happens online, you need to establish trust, and they have been able to do that. I’ve been comfortable sending big amounts for different poojas and to message them,” she tells YourStory. 

Radha has conducted 10 poojas till now. “It’s difficult to go to a temple and you don't really find different temples like you have in India for different situations. And anything that happens in my life, I know the Sri Mandir team is there to support me and help me conduct poojas in India.”

Radha is just one of the many users outside India currently using the Sri Mandir app. 

“To put it roughly, today, 25% of our demand comes from outside India,” says Sachan. 

According to both companies, their services outside of India are growing at a faster pace compared to their already established user base in India. 

In the last 12 months, over five lakh users performed 27 lakh poojas and chadhavas (offering) on AppsForBharat, and AstroTalk saw 1.7 million transacting users in August. Its monthly active user base was around 6.5-7 million users. 

The rising demand for these services also comes with a pumped-up price tag. Both Astrotalk and AppsForBharat charge a premium for their international clients. AppsForBharat charges a 30% premium for its services to clients outside of India which varies depending on the , but Sachan says the percentage can vary depending on the services. Similarly, Jain says that Astrotalk charges a “slight premium” for its international users.

Market ready for disruption

It’s not just customers flocking to this space. Even venture capital firms have taken notice of the growth of spiritual tech space, and investors are eager to tap into this thriving market, sensing the massive potential for returns as more users turn to apps for their spiritual and astrological needs. 

“Astrology is a $15 billion offline market. And it is very suitable to take it online because you need not necessarily have to meet the astrologer in person. Today, all consultations have gone online, including medical consultations and so on. Astrology was one such space which was waiting to move online,” says Navin Honagudi, Managing Partner at venture capital firm Elev8 Venture Partners. 

The firm recently led a $9.5 million investment in Astrotalk, which is valued at $300 million. 

Apart from Elev8, Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani’s investment firm, Fundamentum, has also invested in the space. The company led a $18 million Series B funding round in AppsForBharat in September. 

“If you look at devotion or astrology, it is a very large part of our GDP. And it’s only increasing primarily because people are coming in. Kids these days are becoming independent a lot sooner, and they need devotion and faith to be centered because they have to do a lot of these things themselves. This pattern will continue to grow. You will see a lot of younger users using this platform,” says Ashish Kumar, Co-founder and General Partner at Fundamentum.

While there are many companies in the sector, not all have managed to raise high-ticket funding. 

According to Honagudi, around 20-25 companies emerged in the space between 2018 and 2019. Many raised seed funding and saw increased angel investments. However, post-COVID, only a handful took off. 

“These companies (Astrotalk and AppsForBharat) managed to cross the inflection point and are now in the scale-up mode. I think the reaffirmation these companies have given to the Indian VCs is what is prompting investments in the sector,” he adds.

“Overseas markets are definitely far more lucrative because the consumer either pays in dollars or pounds. So, they’ve just crossed Rs 200 crore in terms of ARR (annual recurring revenue) on their international business, with the US contributing to about 50-55% of that business. The cost for the price that they charge is significantly higher as compared to what they would charge an Indian consumer. Similarly, the payout to an astrologer consulting to a US customer is also significantly higher,” he adds. 

The revenue boom 

Astrotalk and AppsForBharat have mastered the art of identifying demand and developing a technology stack to meet the demand. The companies’ top-line numbers echo this. 

Noida-based Astrotalk’s revenue from operations more than doubled to touch Rs 651 crore in FY24, compared to Rs 283 crore in FY23. The company also reported more than a ten-fold rise in net profit at Rs 94 crore compared to Rs 847 lakh in the previous year. 

Similarly, Bengaluru-based AppsForBharat reported a 4X rise in its revenue to Rs 18.5 crore in FY24 compared to Rs 3.5 crore in FY23. While the company is not profitable, Sachan says that its contribution margin, where it is bringing in more money than it is spending, is positive and will turn net profitable in two years. 

Kumar adds that in the future, there will be many spaces in the spirituality sector that have the scope to grow, including religious tourism and apps built for other religions. 

“I think now, there is an interest in the sector in general, and I do feel that you will see multiple types of companies being created, you know, one, of course, AstroTalk has kind of done a lot more on the astrology side. That is how they have indexed. AppsForBharat has built more on devotion. And I do feel that at some point of time, everyone will get into a little bit of a territory of each other also, but indexed on different types. But I think there are different axes, which have still not been solved for,” says Kumar.