Astrotalk to create subsidiary to focus on devotion as a business

Mint

2 days ago

Faith-tech startup Astrotalk is looking at launching a new line of businesses that will focus on devotion, its founder said, amid rising demand for online and home-based religious rituals.
'We are looking to invest ₹50-100 crore behind this new subsidiary that is focusing on helping people do pooja online or at their home," founder Puneet Gupta said in an interview.
Astrotalk, which offers online astrology advise, is gearing up for an initial public offering (IPO) in calendar year 2027.
The company already claims to earn ₹6 crore in monthly revenue from online poojas, driven by word-of-mouth recommendations by its partner astrologer – chiefly pundits in temples.
Customers will be given the choice to perform an online ritual - a puja for instance - at home or in a temple.
The decision to create a subsidiary for devotion is based on differentiation for the Indian customer.
'We've not seen success in Indian businesses that do 10 different things. Indians need a different brand name, but we'll make sure that it says 'Powered by Astrotalk,' so it gives users the trust that they associate with our brand," Gupta said.
Astrotalk has no fixed timeline on when the devotion business will go live, but has begun the hiring process for the leadership team. While one person is being moved internally, two others have been offered roles for the devotion business. The company expects the team to be finalized by September.
'Leadership is first, product is second because once we start talking to people we'll realise what they want. I can say 10 things now, but it could make no sense if the customer isn't sure," Gupta said.
'We already have ₹700 crore in the bank and we're currently fundraising $50 million (around ₹434 crore). The company will have enough money down the line to take these calls."
The main focus for the new business is to tie up with large well-known temples and offer customers the chance to offer prayers to deities there, instead of the ones at their homes or those provided by their astrologers.
'We want to be able to have different temples which specialize in different things so customers have options," said Gupta.
Astrotalk wants to market places of worship as well, directing people to certain temples based on where they'd like to make donations or offer prayers. 'We will create the entire ecosystem for a temple in that whatever is associated with it, we will do that for the consumer," said Gupta. 'We're looking to on-board as many temples as we can."
Eventually, the company hopes that it will also be able to set up live streams within temples to allow consumers to interact without having to be there in-person.
Astrotalk's revenue more than doubled to ₹651 crore in FY24 from ₹283 crore in FY23. Profits too increased, over 12 times to hit ₹100 crore in FY24, up from ₹8 crore in FY23, according to data from Tofler. While the company's FY25 number's haven't been disclosed yet, Gupta said that Astrotalk's annual revenue currently stands at ₹1,650 crore. It is targeting an ARR of ₹2,000 crorebythe end of FY26.
Astrotalk's pitch is ambitious, given that there are thousands of temples across India attracting millions of devotees. In 2024 alone, over three million people visited the Badrinath and Kedarnath Dhams, according to an official statement from the Shri Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee.
Earlier this year, the Maha Kumbh Mela in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj was estimated to have spawned $30 billion of financial transactions, according to Sprout Research. The first day alone dwarfed the number of people visiting the Badrinath and Kedarnath Dhams, coming in at six million.
Fundraising to set benchmarks
Currently, the company is in the process of raising $50 million at a unicorn valuation, where a startup is valued at over $1 billion. 'We're bringing in public market investors in this round who would be able to help anchor an IPO," said Gupta, clarifying that the company isn't calling the latest fundraise a pre-IPO round.
Astrotalk plans to file for an IPO early in the calendar year 2027. Should the company list successfully, it'll be the first in the faith-tech space to do so.
Faith-tech startups are gaining momentum in India, with funding into these digital platforms surging from $4.3 million in 2023 to $50.7 million in 2024, according to market intelligence platform Tracxn.
The company's closest competitor is AppsForBharat, which has raised $20 million in a Series C round led by Susquehanna Asia Venture Capital with participation from Nandan Nilekani's Fundamentum, Elevation Capital, and Peak XV Partners. AppsForBharat is currently valued at $175 million.
The ongoing fund-raise is a mix of primary and secondary rounds, with new investors joining the cap table. However, Astrotalk declined to name the new investors.
In fact, the company said that its early investors aren't willing to dilute too much of their equity in the new round. 'No one wants to fully exit and I've made it clear that I won't be diluting my shares alone, everyone will have to do a little bit," Gupta said.
Astrotalk is currently backed by Elev8 Venture Partners, New York-based Left Lane Capital and QED Innovation Labs.
Overall, the company has raised a total of $30 million so far, and its last funding round in 2024 took its valuation to $300 million. The latest fundraise will take its valuation to over 3x of its current value. 'We don't really need the money right now, we're doing it to benchmark the valuation and bring good people on board," according to Gupta.