AppsForBharat, the Indian technology startup behind the successful Hindu devotional platform Sri Mandir, has secured another major funding round, raising $20 million in its latest Series C investment. This fresh capital injection comes barely nine months after the startup raised $18 million, underscoring strong investor interest driven by substantial user growth and robust engagement rates on the app.
The round was led by Susquehanna Asia Venture Capital, along with continued backing from high-profile existing investors including Indian billionaire Nandan Nilekani’s Fundamentum Partnership, Elevation Capital, and Peak XV Partners.
In a country where spirituality and temple devotion constitute a substantial economic and cultural force, there are approximately 53 temples for every 100,000 people. With a market valuation estimated at around ₹3.02 trillion ($40 billion)—about 2.3% of India’s GDP, according to government data—the sector remains primarily offline and fragmented. Sri Mandir addresses these gaps by enabling devotees to perform rituals, prayers, and offerings digitally, providing accessibility to spiritual services for millions of Hindus both in India and overseas.
Since its launch in late 2020, the Sri Mandir app has rapidly attracted a wide user base of more than 40 million downloads. Over the past year alone, the app has facilitated around 1.2 million digital prayer ceremonies and offerings at more than 70 temples across India.
Today, Sri Mandir boasts approximately 3.5 million monthly active users, with around 90,000 devotees residing outside the country. The platform’s revenue model effectively captures the financial potential of the Indian diaspora, particularly in the United States, UK, UAE, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Users outside India generate average revenue per user (ARPU) of around ₹7,000 (about $81), significantly outpacing the domestic ARPU range of ₹600–₹800 ($7–$9). Currently, devotees living overseas account for approximately 20% of the app’s total revenue.
Growth prospects outside India also look promising, with the company witnessing a steady 15% quarter-over-quarter increase in its overseas subscriber base, now reaching 700,000 registered users.
Within India, the app maintains an evenly distributed demographic between urban and smaller regional centers, with about 30% of domestic users aged under 35. International users tend to be slightly older, predominantly consisting of those in their thirties and older.
Earlier this year, according to founder and CEO Prashant Sachan, Sri Mandir surpassed an annualized revenue run rate of $12 million, anchored by an impressive six-month retention rate of nearly 55%. Sachan attributes this retention to the app’s unique position as a go-to religious and devotional service—a kind of habitual platform used repeatedly throughout the year.
Sachan noted variations in user behaviors by geography: roughly 20–25% of Indian devotees engage in both prayers and offerings within the app. Among the diaspora, particularly in the U.S., this overlap is significantly higher, nearly reaching 50%, possibly because of their remote locations away from India’s physical temples.
Sri Mandir generates income primarily by taking a service commission from temples brought online, with a take rate varying between 20% and 25%, depending on individual temple arrangements. The startup is also steadily diversifying its revenue streams by selling authentic temple merchandise and devotional items online. Notably, temples partnering with Sri Mandir have reported average revenue increases ranging from 15% to 25%, driven by greater engagement from devotees accessing these sacred institutions digitally.
The religious app market continues to thrive globally; however, India’s growth trajectory has outpaced global averages by considerable margins. During the first half of 2025, while global religious applications experienced a moderate 15% year-over-year growth in monthly active users, top religious apps in India registered an impressive 60% rise in active user bases and a 50% increase in downloads.
Despite an increasingly competitive market and modest ranking fluctuations, Sri Mandir remains India’s top Hindu-specific devotional app, even as it faced competition from broader religious apps like LifeChurch.tv’s Bible app, which took the leading spot in overall religious app rankings in India earlier this year.
Total funding directed toward religious technology startups in India reached approximately $50.5 million last year, marking an all-time high. Since 2020, India has accounted for 15% of global investment inflows into religious technology startups, becoming second only to the United States in funding volumes.
With the fresh Series C funds, AppsForBharat plans substantial strategic expansions in at least twenty prominent Indian temple towns, beginning with locations like Varanasi, Ayodhya, Haridwar, and Ujjain. The development of physical logistics and fulfillment centers in these cities will enable the startup to streamline the delivery of religious offerings (“prasad”) and devotional merchandise, processing 40,000–50,000 orders per site, while simultaneously creating local employment opportunities.
Additionally, the company is enhancing its user experience through the rollout of innovative AI features. This includes AI-driven assistance allowing devotees to ask questions about prayers, rituals, festivals, and cultural traditions typically reserved for priests and elders. To ensure accuracy and reliability, the company plans careful AI integration in collaboration with spiritual experts to avoid misinformation and ensure the credibility of AI-generated content.
AppsForBharat projects reaching profitability by 2027–2028 and intends to position itself strategically for a possible public market listing around that time. Although CEO Prashant Sachan indicated there is currently no distinct timeline for a definitive IPO, his immediate objective is expanding the platform’s temple affiliations from the current 70 to around 500 by the end of this year, while growing its Bangalore-based employee strength from 300 to about 400.
