Sri Mandir Attracts Investors as Digital Devotion Grows

AppsForBharat, the Indian startup that created the Hindu devotional app Sri Mandir, has successfully raised $20 million in its latest funding round—just over nine months after securing $18 million—reflecting the growing interest from both devotees and investors for the app.

The Series C round was spearheaded by Susquehanna Asia Venture Capital, with contributions from previous investors, including Indian billionaire Nandan Nilekani’s Fundamentum Partnership, Elevation Capital, and Peak XV Partners.

In India, religious devotion is deeply ingrained, with approximately 53 temples available for every 100,000 individuals. Nearly 2 million Hindu devotees engage in prayers either at home or in temples with local priests to seek peace and wellness. According to a survey from the Indian government’s National Sample Survey Office, the Hindu temple economy is estimated to be valued at ₹3.02 trillion (around $40 billion), which accounts for nearly 2.3% of India’s GDP. Despite this scale, services related to prayers and offerings primarily operate offline, are unorganized, and are fragmented. AppsForBharat asserts that it is tackling these challenges through the Sri Mandir app.

Founded in November 2020, AppsForBharat launched Sri Mandir shortly thereafter to provide online prayer services and the ability to make virtual offerings to Indian temples. The app has achieved over 40 million downloads since its launch. In the past year, it has successfully facilitated 1.2 million devotees in performing online prayers and making offerings at over 70 temples across India.

At present, Sri Mandir has around 3.5 million monthly active users, including approximately 90,000 users from outside India. While the predominant user base is domestic, international users generate a significantly higher average revenue per user (ARPU)—approximately ₹7,000 (around $81), compared to ₹600–800 ($7–$9) in India. Notably, nearly 20% of the platform’s revenue comes from the Indian diaspora residing in the U.S., U.K., UAE, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, as reported by the Bengaluru-based startup.

Simultaneously, the number of registered Sri Mandir users outside India is growing at a quarterly rate of 15%, now totaling 700,000.

In India, the app’s user demographic is evenly distributed between tier-1 and tier-2 cities, with 30% of users being under 35. In international markets, the majority of users are aged 30 and above.

At the start of 2025, Sri Mandir reached a run rate of over $12 million, as confirmed by AppsForBharat founder and CEO Prashant Sachan in a recent interview.

The app boasts a retention rate of about 55% over six months, indicating that over half of its users maintain active engagement six months after signing up.

“The app’s retention has remained strong due to the recurring nature of the transactions that users typically engage in throughout the year,” Sachan noted in his discussion with TechCrunch.

User engagement varies by region. There is a 20% to 25% overlap among users in India who participate in both prayers and offerings through the app. In the U.S., this overlap rises to around 50%, as users often seek greater interaction with temple services from abroad.

As the majority of Hindu devotional services remain offline in India, some temples have begun live streaming and accepting digital offerings. As a result, several competing apps have emerged to contend with Sri Mandir’s dominance. However, Sachan observed that these competitors combined account for only about 15% to 20% of Sri Mandir’s total installs.

Similar to other online platforms, Sri Mandir charges temples a commission for listing their services online. The average commission ranges from 20% to 25%, based on the services offered. The startup is also gradually diversifying its revenue streams by introducing additional offerings, such as merchandise from well-known temples.

Importantly, Sri Mandir helps temples increase their revenues by 15% to 25% by attracting more devotees online.

Continues to be the Premier Hindu Devotional App

The market for religious apps has surged globally, particularly in India. Worldwide, the top 10 religious apps recorded a 15% year-over-year growth in monthly active users during the first half of 2025, despite a 2% decline in downloads. In contrast, India’s religious app market has experienced accelerated growth, with the leading 10 apps observing a 60% increase in monthly active users and a 50% rise in downloads.

Ironically, amidst this boom, Sri Mandir has lost some ground. In the first half of 2024, it ranked within the top 35 religious apps globally and maintained the top position among religious apps in India, but this year it has slipped to second place, overtaken by LifeChurch.tv’s Bible app, which claims over 80 million average monthly active users worldwide.

Despite this, Sri Mandir remains the leading Hindu devotional app.

In summary, funding for religious tech in India peaked at $50.5 million in 2024, while global funding reached its highest in 2021 before experiencing a gradual decline, according to Indian private market tracker Tracxn. Since 2020, India has accounted for 15% of global investments in religious tech, establishing itself as the second-largest market for funding volume after the U.S.

AppsForBharat has positioned itself as a leader in this sector, having raised $33.4 million prior to its Series C round, according to Tracxn.

“Startups in the religious tech space are gaining global attention, especially in markets like India, where cultural and religious values play a significant role among the populace, supported by increased internet penetration, digital payment systems, and growing e-commerce adoption, particularly in tier-2 and tier-3 cities. This sector is set for further growth in the near future,” remarked a spokesperson from Tracxn.

With the latest funding, AppsForBharat plans to invest in more than 20 temple towns across India, beginning with Varanasi and Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh, Haridwar in Uttarakhand, and Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh. The startup aims to establish physical facilities in these areas to create logistical hubs within its temple network, overseeing the distribution of food offerings (prasad) and other ritual items.

Each of these facilities is expected to handle 40,000 to 50,000 orders and contribute to local employment, according to Sachan.

Furthermore, the startup is enhancing user experience on its app with AI-driven capabilities, enabling users to ask questions related to faith, specific prayers, and festivals—queries commonly directed at priests or elders.

Sachan noted that the startup will work with subject matter experts to implement safeguards against instances of AI “hallucination,” where the AI might generate incorrect information.

AppsForBharat aspires to achieve profitability by 2027–28, with plans to prepare for a public listing during that period, although Sachan remarked that no specific IPO timeline has been set yet.

In the near term, the startup aims to expand its temple network to 500 locations this year and grow its workforce from the current 300 employees, including 250 at its Bengaluru headquarters, to approximately 400.