AppsForBharat Nets $18 Mn To Boost Operations Of Its Spiritual App Sri Mandir, Eyes Offline Expansion

Bengaluru-based AppsForBharat, which runs spiritual tech platform Sri Mandir, has secured $18 Mn (around INR 151.1 Cr) in a Series B funding round led by Nandan Nilekani’s VC fund Fundamentum.

The round also saw participation from Susquehanna Asia VC and existing backers like Elevation Capital, Peak XV and Mirae Asset VC.

AppsForBharat plans to use the fresh funds to scale up operations of its Sri Mandir app, onboard new temples, launch additional services and build a comprehensive tech stack for devotional ecosystem.

Prior to this, the spiritual tech startup raised $14 Mn in total funding, with $10 Mn and $4 Mn in Series A and seed funding rounds, respectively.

AppsForBharat launched its flagship app, Sri Mandir in 2021. The Sri Mandir app lets users create a virtual temple on their phones, enabling them to perform pooja, light diyas, and offer flowers. It offers access to over 50 temples, allowing devotees to participate in pujas, make offerings and access devotional content from home. 

Prashant Sachan, founder and CEO of AppsForBharat, said, “Our vision is to transform Sri Mandir into an end-to-end digital tech platform that caters to every aspect of the devotional journey.” 

Sachan told Inc42 that they began monetising the app in August-September 2022, with the first paid services going public in September. “Since then, we have seen significant growth and achieved contribution margin positivity in February 2024.” 

The company is also looking to turn profitable in the next 18-24 months.

Currently, the company generates revenue primarily from its free app, which includes engagement features, charhava and puja. About 25% of demand is from outside India, with primary markets being the US, Canada, the UK, and the emerging market in the Middle East.

Sachan added that the app served 4,000 to 5,000 users per month from August 2022 to March 2023. The flagship app has experienced 20X growth in terms of users. The app now has 30 Mn installs.

Going forward, for FY25 the founder added that he plans to create a comprehensive tech stack for temples, offering a free SaaS tool to support their operations. He is aiming to grow the user base to tenfold. He projects that if the user base grows tenfold, revenue could also increase tenfold.

In the next 12 months, the Sri Mandir app plans to expand by offering services in five new regional languages, increasing its temple listings by tenfold across India, and developing a spiritual tourism ecosystem. The platform aims to enhance the experience for all stakeholders—temples, service providers (pandits/purohits), and devotees—through its tech stack. Additionally, it aims to strengthen its presence in India and scale its international operations.

Sachan also said that they are planning to expand into offline channels in the next six months, which is currently in the pilot phase. “We are leveraging our existing partnerships to enhance offerings and create new experiences for users.”

“While the platform has been focused on online access, we are now working on integrating offline solutions,” he added.

Speaking about the offline experiences, Sachan mentioned, “People often go on pilgrimages, but offerings today are non-standardised. We aim to create a trusted platform for booking and accessing these experiences. Just as we manage online pujas through the Sri Mandir app, we will extend these services to offline experiences. Wherever we currently operate online, we will begin offering offline experiences there as well.”

AppsForBharat’s loss widened 5X to INR 44.9 Cr in the financial year ending March 31, 2023, from INR 9 Cr in FY22.

The startup’s revenue from operations jumped 92X to INR 3.5 Cr in FY23 from INR 3.8 Lakh in FY22, as per its filings with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

Founded in November 2020 by Sachan, an IIT Bombay alumnus and serial entrepreneur, AppsForBharat addresses the gap in devotional and spiritual services for over half a Bn people in India and 50 Mn globally.