Christian app Glorify receives financial support of US$ 40 million

Glorify, an application that enables Christians to conduct guided meditations, prayers and Bible readings, announced this Thursday (2) the raising of a contribution of US$ 40 million.

The round is led by the a16z fund, joined by SoftBank Latin America Fund and K5 Global and celebrities like Kris Jenner, Corey Gamble, Michael Ovitz, Michael Bublé, Jason Derulo and the founders of the Candy Crush game.

With the Series A contribution (a time when investors expect a startup to have a concrete plan to develop its business model and generate profit), the company wants to consolidate its position as one of the largest global applications aimed at Christians.

The amount will be used to scale operations, expand the team internationally, develop new exclusive content and enhance the app’s capabilities.

Created in London, England, the prayer tool is available for Android and Apple. The idea for the app was born when British entrepreneurs, Henry Costa and Ed Beccle, realized the importance of expanding access to Christian content.

The Brazilian version, which arrived in the country in January — when churches and religious temples were closed to the public because of the pandemic — should end the year with approximately 2 million downloads

“When we came up with the Glorify concept, we knew we were creating something big, but when we met with investors, it soon became clear that we had something out of the ordinary on our hands,” said Ed Beccle, co-founder of Glorify.

In the app, users are greeted with a quote, followed by a worship routine consisting of short passages from the Bible, a time of devotion and reflection. They can also explore additional content including exclusive music, prayers and meditations.

inChurch

In June of this year, another company that received financial support was inChurch. The company raised R$ 5 million in a private round. The investment was led by Smart Money Ventures, with the participation of more than 20 investors and Eduzz, a digital platform for infoproducers.

The goal of the round, according to the company, was to expand the operation of outbound sales (external sales), seeking to gain market share, in addition to accelerating market education with the inChurch university, expanding the amount invested in marketing and optimizations in the solution development.

Focused on the Christian environment, inChurch has 700,000 registered users. Through the applications it makes available, church members can follow news, watch videos, consult the church’s schedule and register for events, in addition to downloading handouts, requesting prayers and accessing the Bible in digital format.