Due to a financial crisis, spiritual tech startup My Tirth India said on Monday that it is closing. Given that spiritual technology has become one of the most popular industries despite the difficult funding climate for other businesses, this news is unexpected.
More than twelve startups in the spiritual tech sector have raised over $40 million in funding in the last fifteen months.
By uniting temples, hotels, travel agencies, astrologers, ayurvedic doctors, and yoga practitioners on one platform, My Tirth India, a pilgrimage and darshan site, used to facilitate tours to India’s most revered religious sites.
“..we have tried to generate as much employment as possible across cities, villages, and towns encouraging people to rediscover their culture, traditions, and heritage. But it’s with utter sadness that we finally have to shut down the office due to the lack of funds after the unfortunate demise of our principal shareholder and mentor,” said Indraneel Dasgupta, co-founder and CEO of My Tirth India.
My Tirth India claims that it raised close to $1 million from the late Subrata Roy, who served as both the company’s mentor and major shareholder. Sahara India Pariwar was founded by Roy, who also served as its managing director. My Tirth India’s primary mentor at the moment is singer Anup Jalota.
When the company was founded in 2019, it also introduced spiritual membership programs for tourists, as well as spiritual showrooms in places like Lucknow, Varanasi, Kolkata, and Noida, along with a variety of spiritual goods like idols, dhoop, puja samagri, and havan samagri.
Reports from the industry indicate that 10% of India’s GDP comes from the travel sector. Spiritual tourism accounts for between 65 and 70 percent of the total volume.
According to the media, in the last 15 months, astrological and spiritual tech startups have raised more than $40 million. Notable companies like Ustav App, DevDham, InstaAstro, AstroTalk, Vama, and Melooha also managed to raise a respectable amount of money during that time. The parent company of SriMandir, AppsForBharat, is also in discussions to raise $15 million in a fresh funding round.
