Athira Sethu
Kochi, 1 July 2025
AppsForBharat, the company behind the popular devotional app Sri Mandir, has raised ₹175 crore (about $20 million) in new funding. This money came from investors led by Susquehanna Asia Venture Capital. Other earlier investors like Nandan Nilekani’s Fundamentum, Elevation Capital, and Peak XV Partners also joined in.
This is the firm’s third large funding round. AppsForBharat has cumulatively raised more than $50 million to date. It is headquartered in Bengaluru and was established in 2020.
The firm will utilize these new funds to expand its temple town services in more than 20 temple cities like Ayodhya, Varanasi, Ujjain, and Haridwar. They will also establish local centers to provide prasad and other temple services quicker. Furthermore, they would like to leverage AI (artificial intelligence) to enable users to receive improved recommendations and information regarding rituals and devotional content.
Sri Mandir app has already been downloaded over 40 million times. In the last year, 1.2 million users have conducted over 5.2 million online pujas and offerings via the app. A large number of users from other countries—such as the US, UK, UAE, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand—are also availing themselves of the app. They contribute about 20% to the app’s user base.
With Sri Mandir, individuals are able to conduct online pujas, provide chadhava, accept prasad, and view devotional material. During the Mahakumbh Mela 2025, the app enabled more than 3 lakh individuals to conduct digital rituals and accept holy water (Triveni Sangam Jal) at home.
The app has also assisted temples in generating more revenue. Temple revenues have risen by 25-30% due to online bookings. Even local shopkeepers are receiving more orders for prasad and puja material. The company plans to employ more staff in temple towns to enhance its service.
Founder and CEO Prashant Sachan stated that the growth of the company has doubled over the last six months. They are developing new AI products that will assist users while performing rituals and recommend content to users based on their interests.
AppsForBharat closed the last financial year (March 2024) with a significant boost in revenue—from ₹3.5 crore to ₹18.5 crore. Losses also dropped slightly. The company has not announced this year’s figures yet.
They are competing with other devotional apps such as DevDham, Utsav App, Sutradhar, Ghar Mandir, and 27 Mantra.
