Profits written in the stars for Astrotalk

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Hello reader,

I’m normally a little sceptical about anything related to mysticism.

When a former colleague complained that her mother had brought her to every fortune teller in Hanoi to discover why she wasn’t yet married, it was hard not to laugh. With her, not at her, I can assure you.

However, one experience with the realm of the mystical gave me pause for thought.

I don’t necessarily believe that a tarot card reading can predict a person’s future, but having mine read by a friend was an eye-opener.

While the reading didn’t teach me anything about my future, it did allow me to look at a problem I was facing in my life at the time from a new perspective and made me a little less sceptical.

You may find it hard to believe that an astrology startup can be bootstrapped and profitable, but that’s exactly what India’s Astrotalk is. Seeing is believing.

Today we look at:

• Astrotalk predicts more profits and prophets in its future
• Igloo heats up with some fresh funding
• Other newsy highlights such as OpenAI delaying the launch of a chatbot platform after its leadership turmoil and Douyin testing paid content.

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Astrotalk’s star turn

Image credit: Timmy Loen

India’s spiritual and religious market is worth an estimated US$58.5 billion, and Astrotalk has carved itself a profitable niche in that growing industry.
Connecting users with astrologers, the online platform recorded US$3.3 million in profit in the financial year ended March 2023 and has its sights set on growing that number, as well as going public.

• Written in the stars: For most of India’s large Hindu population, it’s important to consult astrologers ahead of important life decisions, such as marriage, making a big purchase, or even when to give birth. However, urbanization and changes to traditional ways of living have made it harder for people to get access to an astrologer. Astrotalk aims to solve that problem via its platform, which it says has more than 400,000 daily users.
• Star quality: Anmol Jain, co-founder of Astrotalk, told Tech in Asia that his company stands out by working only with “experienced and genuine astrologers.” Candidates have to go through a “strict five-round vetting process” to get hired. The more than 15,000 astrologers on the platform charge anything from US$0.12 to US$2.4 per minute, based on their experience and skills.
• Shooting for the stars: Astrotalk is aiming for revenue between US$72 million to US$78 million, up from US$34.2 million in the last financial year. Jain said the company is “nearing the conclusion” of raising a US$40 million growth round ahead of going public in 2025. He declined to say why the company eyes an IPO despite having already hit profitability.

Igloo feels the warmth of funding

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