Devotion and Faith need a Match Group

When my aunts and uncles start talking about a new app, I pay close attention.

Recently, the buzz has been around an app called Sri Mandir—a platform that is transforming the way people connect with their faith.

Sri Mandir allows users to offer ceremonial prayers, make donations, and sponsor aartis at some of India’s most revered temples, all from their phone. You can choose from various puja packages, whether you want to do it individually, with a partner, or as a family.

For many members of my extended family, visiting temples for an annual ritual of worship and donation was once a tradition. But as people have moved to other parts of the world, it’s become harder to maintain this ritual. Sri Mandir offers a solution for those who want to stay connected to their faith despite the distance.

The standout feature? They send you a video of the puja performed in your name just a few days later. It’s not just a convenient app; it’s a way to bring ancient traditions into the modern world, allowing people to engage with their faith in a meaningful way.

A Business That Taps into Devotion

Since its launch in 2020, Sri Mandir has been downloaded 30 million times and is available in major markets like the U.S., U.K., and UAE.

Users can subscribe for $4.99 per month or $29.99 per year to access premium features like horoscopes, the Hindu calendar, and astrological services. With such strong traction, the company recently raised an $18 million Series B led by Nandan Nilekani’s venture firm, Fundamentum Partnership.

While Sri Mandir is currently focused on serving the Hindu community, I can’t help but wonder—why can’t this model be extended to other faiths?

Mulisms go to Mecca
Christians go to Rome
Jews go to Jerusalem…

See a pattern here?

Devotion and religion are often overlooked in the tech space, but there’s a serious unmet need here that few companies have addressed.

The Untapped Market for Devotion and Technology

Think the Match Group (which owns Tinder, Match.com, Hinge, and more). Some of the apps they own are:

Tinder – For Casual Dating
Hinge – For Serious Dating
Chispa – For Hispanic Daters
The League – For White Collar Dating
BLK – For Black Daters

We don’t yet have an equivalent in the devotional space.

There’s an opportunity here to build a platform that brings religious and spiritual practices to the digital age, catering to the needs of people across various faiths and religions.

Religion and devotion may seem like niche or taboo topics for tech companies, but the demand is there, and the numbers back it up. With Sri Mandir’s success, we’re seeing how technology can bridge the gap between tradition and modernity in a way that resonates deeply with users.

Any VC Takers?

So, is anyone in the VC world ready to take this concept and run with it? The potential for growth in this space is huge, and Sri Mandir’s early success shows that there’s a real, tangible demand for apps that make religious practices accessible to people everywhere. The world of devotion is ripe for disruption, and Sri Mandir is just the beginning.