AppsForBharat, the parent company of devotional app Sri Mandir, on Tuesday said it has raised $18 million in a funding round led by Infosys Co-founder Nandan Nilekani-backed venture capital firm Fundamentum.
The round saw participation from Susquehanna Asia VC as well as existing investors Elevation Capital, Peak XV, and Mirae Asset VC, a statement said.
Founded in November 2020 by serial entrepreneur and IIT Bombay Alumni, Prashant Sachan, AppsForBharat caters to devotional and spiritual needs of the people.
AppsForBharat plans to utilise the fund to scale the Sri Mandir app's India and international operations, onboard new temples, launch new services, and build a comprehensive tech stack for the devotional ecosystem, the statement said.
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"Over the next five years, we aim to expand our offerings by introducing spiritual tourism, facilitating special Darshan tickets, and providing seamless delivery of Prasad and related devotional goods.
"Our vision is to transform Sri Mandir into an end-to-end digital tech platform that caters to every aspect of the devotional journey," AppsForBharat Founder and CEO Sachan said.
The company claims that its devotional Sri Mandir app has garnered over 30 million app downloads and last year over 5 lakh devotees have done 27 lakh pujas and offerings at temples across India through the app.
In the next 12 months, the company plans to make the Sri Mandir app available to devotees in five new regional languages, grow its temple listing by 10 times across India, and develop a robust spiritual tourism ecosystem.
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The platform plans to deepen its roots in India and scale international operations in key markets such as the US, the UK, and Canada, the statement added.
"India's devotional sector valued at $50 billion presents a massive opportunity for digital transformation. AppsForBharat's approach to bringing access and convenience to the devotional sector represents a compelling opportunity and we are proud to partner with them in their scale-up journey," Fundamentum, Cofounder and General Partner, Ashish Kumar said.
Kumar will join AppsForBharat board.
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