Faith-Tech Startup Vama Secures Rs 22 Crore Pre-Series A Funding
- Bengaluru-based faith-tech startup Vama raised Rs 22 crore ($2.47M) led by Wavemaker Partners, with 500 Global, Sadev Ventures, and others joining in. The funds will support category expansion, marketing, and global growth.
- Vama posted Rs 19.5 crore in FY24 revenue double from FY23. It aims to reach 1 million paid users and expand temple partnerships from 250 to 500.
- With Vama Mall gaining momentum, the startup plans to enter offline spiritual travel and NRI services, while targeting EBITDA profitability and competing with AppsForBharat and DevDham.
Vama, Bengaluru-headquartered faith-tech startup that provides online religious and spiritual services, has raised Rs 22 crore ($2.47 million) in a Pre-Series A funding round headed by Wavemaker Partners, joined by 500 Global, Sadev Ventures, Venture Catalysts, Silverneedle Ventures, and several angel investors.
This is 500 Global's first investment in Vama, while Wavemaker Partners invested twice the amount after initially investing in the company in 2023.
The startup is going to use the new funds to introduce new categories, build up its e-commerce channel, enhance marketing efforts, and invest in expanding globally. Vama stated that it still has contribution margins of more than 10% and is looking to achieve EBITDA profitability as it grows even larger.
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Started in 2020 by Manu Jain and Acharya Dev, Vama merges tech with tradition, providing virtual temple services, astrology consultations, and real spiritual products via its platform. Its new e-commerce arm, Vama Mall, has picked up speed, and it is set to further diversify into offline spiritual travel and NRI-focused services.
Vama generated Rs 19.5 crore in revenue during FY24, which is twice that of the previous year, and anticipates following the growth pattern during FY25. Temple services currently generate around 70% of revenue, followed by astrology and Vama Mall.
The platform has acquired over 150,000 paying members and wants to scale that number to 1 million over two years, along with increasing its temple partnerships from 250 to 500.
In India's fast-burgeoning faith-tech sector, Vama faces competition from the likes of AppsForBharat, DevDham, Utsav App, Sutradhar, and Ghar Mandir. Particularly, AppsForBharat has raised $20 million in Series C funding recently, reflecting investor appetite in this niche segment.
