AppsForBharat, the company behind the devotional app Sri Mandir, has raised Rs 175 crore (around $20 million) in a Series C funding round. The funding was led by Susquehanna Asia Venture Capital, with continued support from its existing investors Fundamentum, Elevation Capital, and Peak XV Partners.
The money raised will be used to improve services in more than 20 temple towns across India, including Ayodhya, Varanasi, Ujjain, and Haridwar. AppsForBharat plans to strengthen its services and online shopping features and also build delivery systems and infrastructure.
The company also wants to grow its partnerships with temples, upgrade its digital platform, and use more AI technology to offer better experiences for users.
Prashant Sachan, Founder & CEO of AppsForBharat, said, “We have grown by 2X in the last 6 months and have been able to create significant value for our temple partners and our devotees. We’ve not only brought ease, convenience and satisfaction to our devotees but, more importantly, enabled consistent, year-round revenue for priests, local vendors, and service providers in temple towns.”
He continued, “These communities have traditionally depended on seasonal footfall, by digitising their services, we’re helping uplift livelihoods and bring stability to an otherwise informal and fragmented ecosystem. We’re grateful to our investors for their continued support as we work toward making Sri Mandir, a spiritual companion for millions across India and the diaspora.”
Sri Mandir, launched in 2020, has grown quickly and has been downloaded over 4 crore times in just four years, according to AppsForBharat.
The app lets users do online pujas, send offerings (chadhavas), receive prasad, and watch spiritual content — all from home. In the last year alone, 12 lakh users performed over 52 lakh rituals through the app across more than 70 temples, the company said.
Nearly 20% of the app’s users now come from the Indian diaspora living in countries like the United States, United Kingdom, UAE, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Sri Mandir has worked with both well-known and smaller temples to make religious services easier to access online.
For example, during this year’s Mahakumbh Mela, the app partnered with Vedashram Trust to help over 3 lakh devotees take part in guided rituals, join online services and even receive holy water from the Triveni Sangam at home.
The company also said that more people are now taking part in rituals at smaller temples through the app.
AppsForBharat shared that many people are now joining temple rituals online through Sri Mandir.
In Paithani village, Uttarakhand, the Rahu Temple had 40,000 people take part in 50 online rituals. The Mayapati Hanuman Temple in Ujjain saw over 15,000 devotees join more than 100 rituals. At the Elleluthu Perumal Temple in Tirunelveli, over 20,000 people participated in digital pujas.
“Sri Mandir has demonstrated exceptional execution in building foundational infrastructure for digital devotional services while simultaneously enabling temples to serve devotees across geographical boundaries better. What excites us most is their evolution from a service marketplace to a comprehensive platform that serves the complete spiritual journey,” said Sai Araveti, Investment Advisor to Susquehanna Asia VC.
“We’re thrilled to continue supporting AppsForBharat as they successfully bridge tradition with technology while preserving the sanctity of devotional practices,” he added.
According to the company, online puja bookings have increased Sri Mandir’s income by 25–30%. They have also boosted demand for prasad and other ritual items from local sellers.
To support this growth, AppsForBharat will set up logistics and fulfilment centres and hire local staff to oversee operations in temple towns. Additionally, the company is creating AI tools to guide users through the app, address their questions, and offer real-time support during rituals and festivals.
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