SUMMARY
With the consecration ceremony of Ram temple in Ayodhya just around the corner, experts see the Indian spiritual tech space getting an unimaginable boost
As Ayodhya becomes a major focal point for spiritual tourism, many startups will be prominently seen leveraging such opportunities to establish new revenue streams, maximise profits and lap up investor capital
While VAMA is offering interactive virtual kathas and immersive temple experience around Ayodhya, AppsForBharat's Sri Mandir app will allow users to make offerings in the temple from their homes
Precisely two months ago, we decoded the spurt of spiritual tech startups in India and how there was enough room for disruption in a market that by last year stood at a whopping $58.56 Bn. And now with the Ayodhya temple consecration around the corner, startups are expecting a bigger boom.
While some industry players see the complete transformation of Ayodhya city giving a double-digit boost to their businesses, spiritual tech startups are turning over every rock to find the right models and products.
“Ayodhya’s potential alone is so significant that we anticipate surpassing a 10X growth compared to our previous achievements. The surge in growth in the last 30 days has exceeded our expectations,” spiritual tech startup VAMA’s cofounder Manu Jain told Inc42.
VAMA offers access to online poojas, e-darshans, and astrology services for devotees across India, and Jain believes the consecration ceremony on January 22 is the single biggest event for the spiritual tech sector in the country.
Now, before we delve into how these startups are gearing up for the event in Ayodhya, let’s take a look at the spiritual tech landscape of India.
Spiritual Tech Startups And The Ayodhya Moment
The surge in India’s spiritual tech sector stems from diverse factors, including UPI, affordable internet, increasing access to smartphones, and, of course, the steadfast faith of the people. Startups such as AppsForBharat, Sri Mandir, TempleConnect, Guruji, AstroBuddy, and AstroTalk have grown in popularity and business stature in the last decade or so.
Be it offering astrology services, performing e-pooja or delivering prasad to your doorsteps, these startups are doing everything within their potential reach to quench the spiritual thirst of individuals.
Interestingly, their tech-driven endeavours have attracted the interest of many VCs, who are specifically interested in the performance of startups in this unconventional space.
For instance, Astrotalk posted a profit of INR 27 Cr in FY23 against a revenue of INR 282 Cr.
As mentioned above, as of 2023, the Indian faith market stood at $58.56 Bn, with religious tourism/pilgrimages accounting for a major share in this sector. Experts believe that Indian tech startups can easily capture a 10% share in India’s burgeoning religious economy.
Amid this, it is imperative to mention that Indian startup founders are seeing the opening of the Ram temple in Ayodhya as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to deepen their footprint in the country’s devotional and spiritual realm.
New Springboard For Startups
According to Nripendra Mishra, who earlier served as the principal secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and is currently the chairperson of the Shri Ram Mandir Construction Committee, Ayodhya will see a surge in economic activities after the inauguration of the Ram temple. This will have the potential to transform the city, akin to the National Capital Region (NCR), he believes.
Spiritual tech startups, too, understand this and are all set to make the most out of the devotional wave in the country.
Take AppsForBharat’s Sri Mandir app for example. The app will allow users to make offerings in Ayodhya from their homes.
Launched in 2020, the Sri Mandir app lets users set up a virtual temple on their phones. It allows devotees to perform pooja, light diyas, and offer flowers virtually. It has a collaboration with over 50 temples across the country.
Backed by Peak XV Partners and Elevation Capital, the spiritual tech startup plans to illuminate Ayodhya with more than 1 Lakh diyas from January 18 to January 24.
During the festivities, Sri Mandir will also conduct poojas in Ayodhya, allowing global participants to engage in rituals from their homes virtually.
“We have already received 37,000 orders to fulfil this, and in the next few days, this number is expected to surpass our capacity. The engagement on our platform has increased, which has given a boost to the number of offerings and transactions,” AppsForBharat founder Prashant Sachan told Inc42.
Sri Mandir claims to have 2 Cr app downloads with about 30 Lakh people actively using the app every single month.
“Ayodhya will be an added value proposition for my users and, of course, an important one,” Sachan added.
Meanwhile, VAMA has announced two offerings centred around Ayodhya – interactive virtual kathas and an immersive temple experience.
Jain said that the focus of virtual kathas is on enhancing interactivity. On the other hand, the immersive temple experience will include a 360-degree view, allowing users to perform virtual arti, puja, and darshan.
In addition to this, VAMA has partnered with Sadhna TV to co-create engaging content, offer exclusive consultations with renowned celebrity astrologers and host a significant 24-hour Live Ram katha event from January 14 to January 31.
Jain claimed that the platform has already witnessed a 20% increase in organic users in January so far ahead of the consecration ceremony.
Founded in 2020 by Aacharya Dev, Himanshu Semwal, and Jain, VAMA has raised $2.8 Mn so far. In November last year, it raised $1.5 Mn (INR 12.5 Cr) as a top-up to its seed funding round. The investment was led by Wavemaker Partners, with participation from Lisa Gokongwei-Cheng of Summit Media and Harit Nagpal of Tata Play.
Technology & Infrastructure Changing Temple Town
Industry experts we spoke to said that the Uttar Pradesh government has invested a lot in getting the best technology and creating infrastructure in Ayodhya. This, they believe, is expected to provide convenience to devotees and help spiritual tech startups offer a smooth experience to their customers.
“Starting from CCTV prevalence to AI-driven technology to getting a great darshan inside, everything is very well taken care of in the city. Technology has surged up in a big way where people are online using the best and the latest modes to jointly promote as well as align with the customer convenience,” Giresh Kulkarni, the founder of Temple Connect and International Temples Convention & Expo (ITCX) told Inc42.
Founded in 2016, Temple Connect is a devotional online platform that helps bridge the gap between the pilgrims and the pilgrimage.
The platform provides all the information needed by devotees to travel to Ayodhya through its blog. It is also promoting influencers and their content around Ayodhya.
The startup will also help in queue management, scanning, and facilitating hassle-free entries for devotees to enter the temple premises.
Rapid technological advancements have significantly transformed the religious landscape in India. Faith-tech platforms and digital technologies are reshaping the way people engage with their faith, access religious content, and connect with spiritual communities.
Now, as Ayodhya becomes one of the major focal points for spiritual tourism, many spiritual tech startups will be prominently seen leveraging this opportunity to establish new revenue streams, maximise profits and lap up investor capital.
