Does faith tech make for good business?

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Editor's note: Imagine you are inside a temple. Idols of several gods and goddesses are kept in small enclosed spaces, decorated with large garlands, the marigolds blooming in yellow and orange. You reach out to ring the bells while devotional chants echo in the background. You then light the lamp, offer some money and join your hands in prayer. Imagine, instead, that you’re at home, with your smartphone. The icon is a yellow square, with a red-and-orange temple spire in the foreground and a bit of Hindi text below it. You tap it, the app launches and then a Hindu deity greets you with prayer. You click on a plate with offerings and drag, flowers shower down on the idol. Swipe to repeat with the next god in line, new prayers and chants. This is the Sri Mandir app by AppsForBharat, a Bengaluru-based company that is among a handful of faith tech startups—everything from astrology to prayer chants—that raised funding last year. In total, 18 such companies launched in 2021, according to an October Economic Times report. The uncertainty brought about by …