India’s passion for celestial bodies goes back thousands of years and, as ancient legends of the land professed and practised the study of stars and planets, it gradually became integral to Hinduism, often blurring the line between astrology and spirituality.

Astrology is crucial to millions in their everyday lives. “Everyone is curious to know what’s in the stars. And, they plan their actions based on this reading,” said Puneet Gupta, an entrepreneur.

The software engineer wanted to digitally disrupt the world of astrology and spirituality with his startup Astrotalk. It’s been seven years, and his brainchild has broken into a business that would run more on word-of-mouth, faith, and customer loyalty than on metrics like daily active users, monthly active users, EBITDA and revenues, and emerged as a leader in India’s INR 50,000 Cr ($6.5 Bn) astrotech market.

The model was simple – make astrologers digitally skilled and connect them to millions of users online through video and audio chats. But, Gupta realised the need for scaling as GenZ and millennials began crowding up in India’s $163 Mn app-based astrology market that’s growing over 49% a year to reach $1.8 Bn by 2030 to map their future.

Last year, Astrotalk forayed into selling spiritual products like gemstones and rudraksha beads through its ecommerce vertical. In Gupta’s words, the startup is selling spiritual products, mostly bracelets, of INR 50 Lakh from its platform every month. This adds up to INR 182.5 Cr in annual turnover, making up 10-15% of the revenue pie.

Backed by a 100% topline growth to INR 1,200 Cr in FY25 from INR 651 Cr in the previous fiscal and a 2.5-fold surge in bottomline to INR 250 Cr from INR 100 Cr, Gupta is now aiming for the next big leap – Astrotalk’s offline foray.

The startup plans to roll out its first physical store in the National Capital Region (NCR) by the end of this year. “These won’t be simple retail outlets – they will act as bridges of trust between the digital world and the deeply personal, often sensitive, act of seeking spiritual guidance,” Gupta said.

The offline strategy is also expected to help the company in its listing plans for 2027, after streamlining finances with a new CFO at the helm and top auditors, the offline push is likely to position Astrotalk as a holistic spiritual brand, set to grab a larger slice of India’s $7 Bn faith economy.

Offline Foray: Isn’t It Paradoxical?

The concept of Astrotalk was to take spirituality to the digital realms. Wouldn’t going back to the physical world defy that image?

“We realised that there’s a segment of people who ask questions like ‘Is this real?’, ‘Can I trust an online astrologer?’ Or, ‘I want to touch and feel this gemstone before buying’. Offline presence answers such doubts,” Gupta said in an interaction with........

© Inc42