Romanian startup Bible Chat has raised USD 14 million in a Series A funding round led by Silicon Valley venture capital firm True Ventures, with participation from Early Game Ventures and Play Ventures. The app has quickly become a global success, currently being one of the most successful faith-based digital products worldwide.

Bible Chat is a mobile application designed for Christian communities and individuals seeking spiritual guidance. Launched by Romanian entrepreneurs Laurențiu Bălașa and Marius Iordache, the app has amassed 10 million users and reached annualized revenues of USD 15 million in just one year.

The rapid success has positioned Bible Chat as the fastest-growing mobile app in Europe across all categories and the fastest-growing faith app in the world. 

Bible Chat currently ranks 13th among the most downloaded apps in the App Store, alongside major platforms like WhatsApp and Instagram. This marks a historic milestone for the Romanian tech ecosystem, as no other app launched in the country has achieved such rankings before.

“We thank the investors who gave us their trust and support for the Series A. We will continue the mission of Bible Chat to minimize human suffering. Millions of people depend on our team’s work monthly, and they find support in Bible Chat that helps them face life’s spiritual, emotional, and psychological challenges,” said Laurențiu Bălașa, the company’s founder and CEO.

“Towards the end of last year, Laurențiu sent me two screenshots that, I think, tell the story of a successful tech startup very well. The first image presented the graph of the company’s revenues in the first 4 years since launch. The second image shows the revenue graph in year 5. I kept those screenshots because they tell the story of perseverance, stubbornness, and resilience without which an entrepreneur cannot succeed,” said Cristian Munteanu, Managing Partner of Early Game Ventures, the venture capital fund that was the first investor in the company in 2019.

EGV invested in 28 companies from the first fund between 2019 and 2023. Among them, the most famous are Druid, Bible Chat, MeetGeek, Kinderpedia, SymphoPay, and Ogre. 

In April 2024, the Early Game Fund II was launched with a total value of EUR 60 million, which seeks the most innovative technological startups in Romania and CEE, which are at the beginning of their journey. So far, four investments have been made from the new fund in cybersecurity, AI, and longevity startups.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: screenshot from Thebiblechat.com)