AppsForBharat raises US$ 10 million from Elevation Capital, others

AppsForBharat, a product studio specialising on spiritual and devotional material, has secured US$ 10 million in a Series A investment round headed by Elevation Capital, with previous investors Sequoia Capital India, Beenext, and Matrix Partners India also participating.

Angel investors included Mr. Scott Shleifer of Tiger Global, Mr. Saurabh Gupta of DST Global, and Meesho cofounders Mr. Vidit Aatrey and Mr. Kunal Shah of Cred.

The cash will be used to develop intellectual property for content, build the product, and employ personnel in the product, data, and engineering verticals.

While at Trell, Mr. Prashant Sachan, cofounder of influencer-led social commerce platform Trell, incubated AppsForBharat before spinning it off as a distinct organisation. Mr. Sachan is no longer a Trell promoter. Trell, on the other hand, is a "major shareholder" in AppsForBharat, according to Trell CEO Mr. Pulkit Agarwal.

AppsForBharat raised its initial investment round in April and has now raised a total of US$ 14 million, including the most recent round.

The Bengaluru-based business was formed in November 2020 and now employs 25 employees, with plans to expand to 60 in the next two to three quarters. It plans to monetize certain services through a membership model. Mr. Sachan, on the other hand, stated that the firm does not expect to generate money in the coming year.

SriMandir, AppsForBharat's first Android application, has over 500,000 monthly active users. Its daily active users, on average, spend 20-25 minutes on the app, according to Mr. Sachan. Around 40% of its customers are between the ages of 18 and 35. SriMandir is a virtual place where devotees may build shrines, consume devotional content, connect with prayer groups, and browse a huge collection of spiritual writings, scriptures, and films.

“Any information that might assist you improve your devotion practise is available on this app. We recognise that there are other social demands, such as individuals wanting to listen to Satsang and Pravachan and be able to participate in their communities,” Mr. Sachan explained. “We're putting all of it together right now. So, in general, that's what we're developing with AppsForBharat.”

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