Astrotalk, a spiritual tech startup, has raised $9.5 million in a fresh round led by Elev8 Venture Partners, just a few months after it raised $20 million in February, the company said in a media release on May 3. The round also saw participation from New York’s Left Lane Capital.
While $9.5 million was in primary capital, the firm said the remaining (around $4.5 million) was in the form of a secondary transaction where some early investors sold shares in the company to incoming investors.
The deal values the company at around $300 million. Moneycontrol was the first to report about Astrotalk’s fundraise in April.
The company earns money by operating on a revenue-sharing model with the more than 15,000 active astrologers on its platform. It sells astrology-related services to users through chats and phone calls on its app and website. It charges customers anywhere between Rs 10 and Rs 200 for every minute of consultation, depending on the nature of the query.
With the funds raised, Astrotalk plans to expand its offerings in regional languages and formats, increase its global presence, and expand its team. These initiatives aim to enhance the user experience, making Astrotalk more accessible and versatile for a diverse audience.
“Puneet and Anmol (founders of Astrotalk) have done an extraordinary job building such a rapidly growing and substantial organisation in a short period. At Elev8, we firmly believe that there is significant growth potential left for the company," said Navin Honagudi, Managing Director and Founding General Partner of Elev8 Venture Partners.
The startup competes with GaneshaSpeaks.com, Astroyogi, InstaAstro, and several others. However, none of these companies have attracted investments like Astrotalk has.
"With Elev8's support, we have a local domestic institution that believes in our journey and vision. We are advancing our growth plans, and will be launching newer apps, geographies & categories this year, thus cementing our position as the largest Spiritual-tech company in India " said Puneet Gupta, founder of Astrotalk.
Astrotalk has scaled profitably and seen strong traction from users, which further explains the heightened VC interest and the back-to-back funding rounds. Its revenue grew from Rs 115 crore in FY22 to Rs 283 crore in FY23, as per regulatory filings. During the same period, its net profit increased from Rs 5.7 crore to Rs 8.5 crore.
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