A sales job: What Astrotalk’s 41,000 astrologers didn’t see in their future

Asked a bunch of career-related queries, the astrologer doesn’t answer but instead asks follow-up questions. Finally, just as the two-minute timer runs out, she says, “Your kundli (birth chart) is very good. Please recharge once, so I can help you.”

A recharge of ₹50 is duly made to buy an additional six minutes or so. And with that, the astrologer has turned this writer into a paying customer. This conversion is how the astrologer and the platform make money—the longer the conversation, the more the customer has to recharge, and the more they earn.

Astrologers have been an integral part of life in India since vedic times and are revered members of the community. Their presence looms large in many Indian households and they play an outsized role in influencing the decisions people make, from whom they marry and the auspicious date to begin a new job, to changing homes and naming newborns.

Astrologers base their advice on planetary positions and movements and perform pujas to appease various deities. They also recommend remedies, such as wearing gemstones to enhance positive influences or neutralize negative ones. Beyond predictions, they often act as counsellors, fostering hope when people approach them in uncertain times.

Noida-based Astrotalk has hit a goldmine by adapting this ancient belief system to the digital age, monetizing the influential role astrologers play in people’s lives in a very profitable way. The company claims to have over 41,000 astrologers on its platform, consulting with more than 4,50,000 daily users and over 2.5 million monthly users.

Astrotalk has quietly become a standout success in the tech landscape, generating substantial profits at a time when many startups are struggling with growth and funding. The company’s revenue doubled to ₹651 crore in FY24 from ₹283 crore in FY23. Profit jumped more than 12-fold over the same period, from ₹8 crore in FY23 to ₹100 crore in FY24, according to data from Tofler.

Needless to say, the seven-year-old company has quickly become the leader in the astrology space with its army of astrologers and massive customer base. Rivals Astrosage and Astroyogi are much smaller in comparison.

The company has raised a total of $30 million so far, from backers such as Left Lane Capital and Elev8 Venture Partners and was valued at $300 million after its last fundraise in June 2024. Astrotalk has used that funding to spend freely in an aggressive effort to widen its customer base, with ads around marriage, love, life and jobs. It has more than doubled its expense on marketing, spending ₹163 crore in FY24 against ₹75 crore in FY23.

However, while its partnership with astrologers has been mutually beneficial so far, the relationship has begun to fray. The astrologers, who may not have foreseen recent events, are a disgruntled lot, and some have parted ways with the platform.

Unforeseen turn of events

Mint’s conversations with about 15 astrologers, five of whom have left the platform, revealed that in the last few months, Astrotalk has been pushing them to keep customers engaged longer, linking their incomes to their ability to have extended conversations.

“It’s like a call centre now and not so much an astrology platform,” said one astrologer, noting that the main focus has been on making the customer stay longer, improving repeat business and increasing revenue.

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The company did not respond to Mint’s requests for an interaction or respond to a detailed questionnaire.

Originally, the company and the astrologer would have a 50-50 revenue split for each chat or call, an astrologer told Mint. If a customer recharged ₹100, the payment charges would first be deducted, and the remainder would be split equally between the company and the astrologer, with tax deducted from the latter’s payout.

But many astrologers alleged that Astrotalk has been recouping its heavy marketing spend by taking a cut from their pockets. “They initially said that the company’s share would increase to 60% because it would spend 10% on marketing. When it launched other applications, the company said it would reduce the astrologer’s share from 40% to 30%, increasing the company’s share to 70%, because it would be spending 20% on marketing,” said one soothsayer.

Today, astrologers are asked to speak with a customer for more than 30 minutes to avail the original 50-50 payment split—the company takes 70% of the share for the first 30 minutes.

“Often we have to just stretch the conversation to reach the 30-minute point,” said one astrologer, noting that the profiles of those who have converted fewer customers do not appear before new users. Another said he recently received a call from the company offering training on converting users into loyal customers.

Often we have to just stretch the conversation to reach the 30-minute point.
— An astrologer

“Even if you want to, in astrology, you can’t consult somebody for over half an hour. As he is paying by the minute, he also asks pointed questions and expects straightforward answers,” said a fourth astrologer, who left the platform a few months back.

“If you keep on lying and go roundabout with your answers, only then can you convert them into loyal customers,” said another astrologer, adding that customer support told him to suggest remedies to customers and ask them to come back and talk about the outcome. Mint couldn’t verify this as the source did not have a screenshot of the chat.

All of the astrologers Mint spoke with requested anonymity as they foresee a pushback by the company otherwise.

‘Suggest remedies, earn more’

Astrotalk was launched by Puneet Gupta, a graduate from Punjab Engineering college, Chandigarh. Earlier, he had quit his job as a developer in financial services company Nomura Services in Mumbai to dabble in various businesses, including an Ayurvedic venture with his grandfather, which did not work out.

Early in 2015, Gupta started an IT service company named CodeYeti and ran it for a couple of years before pivoting the entire business to a product named Astrotalk in October 2017.

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The app began as an intermediary, connecting users with astrologers for personalized consultations. Over the years, it has expanded its offerings to include a diverse range of services, such as tarot card readings, numerology, and Vedic astrology.

A few months ago, the company started an ecommerce service called Astromall to sell all kinds of remedies to users. Those remedies are proving to be another bone of contention with the astrologers.

These remedies include bracelets and pendants, e-pooja, reiki healing, gemstones, spells, evil eye removal, and rudrakshas. Their cost ranges from ₹250 to ₹6,200, with astrologers getting a commission of 20-50%.

As the ticket size of these products is bigger than consultations, leading to higher margins, the company has been pushing its astrologers to sell them. “This is a wonderful opportunity to boost your earnings while continuing to help users find the right gemstones for their needs,” read one such message to them, seen by Mint. But the move has not gone down well with the astrologers.

Three astrologers said that they had received calls from company executives either asking them to “suggest remedies” or flagging them for not suggesting remedies for many days.

“They say, ‘You haven’t suggested a remedy in some time. You should do that and you will get a commission.’ If I have seen your kundli and I don’t see a need, why would I suggest a remedy or a gemstone,” said one astrologer.

“It’s not right how they are doing things. Astrology is seva (service) but they have made it all about money,” another added.

There’s a ranking board, visible to all astrologers, where the company shows the earnings of astrologers on Astrotalk consultations as well as Astromall. “If your income is less, your rating goes down. It gets very difficult for an astrologer to work honestly at this point,” said one of them.

Wildly wrong

While the astrologers are unhappy with Astrotalk’s operational calls, they themselves have come in for much flak from customers. Priyanshu Manas, a New Delhi-based marketing professional, tried Astrotalk when he came across an ad promoting a two-minute free chat with astrologers. Manas said the astrologer he spoke to was wildly off the mark in her responses. He, however, got clarity on one question that was burning in his mind, and it had nothing to do with the future; Manas wanted to ascertain whether an astrologer could actually determine current realities based on his birth chart. “I asked whether I was single or in a relationship. She said I was committed—I’m actually single. When I asked if I was in debt, she said I was debt-free—I have significant debt. When I asked about the good and bad aspects of my life, she offered the typical response: ‘Your future is very bright.’”

Manas isn’t the only one. In a LinkedIn post, Rupesh Mehta, founder of Salad Time, a Vadodara-based food company, said he had used Astrotalk’s service five times over the last two years. While he was convinced that astrologers simply tell people what they want to hear and dish out generic advice and feelgood statements, he realized that there was a conscious effort by Astrotalk’s astrologers to sell rituals or services. “To test consistency, I asked the same question to two different astrologers on the same day but framed it slightly differently. Surprisingly, I got completely different answers,” Mehta said.

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On Google’s Play store, one crestfallen user, who was on Astrotalk for more than a year, and had spent over ₹5,000, expressed her angst in a scathing review. “Not even a single prediction came true for me.… I have contacted almost 7-8 astrologers on this app, but nothing works, not even the remedies they provided. I … wasted my time, my hope and my money,” she wrote.

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Others have expressed suspicion that the answers to their queries were from bots, with one user saying he got the same responses verbatim from five astrologers.

Not everyone is dissatisfied, though; the app has also received a significant number of positive reviews on the Play store. “Their ability to understand my concerns and offer practical solutions was remarkable. The session left me feeling rejuvenated and optimistic about the future,” one user posted in his review.

Other user reviews have criticized the free chats advertised aggressively by Astrotalk, with some suggesting that the feature is nothing more than bait to lure people in and bilk them.

More free chats

While customers are upset because they do not get any answers during the free chats, astrologers aren’t pleased with the feature either. “We had to do about five free sessions post which we would get paid customers. The free chats have now increased to about 10 every day,” an astrologer told Mint.

Almost all the astrologers Mint spoke with said that the free chats, without which they do not get paid chats, have increased. Astrotalk has cut the time for a free chat from five minutes to two minutes.

One astrologer explained that it is hard to convert customers because it’s difficult to answer any questions in two minutes. “They have heavy traffic and an army of astrologers and quality has taken a backseat,” this person said.

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Another soothsayer concurred, saying that it is practically impossible to analyse or suggest anything within two minutes. “As an astrologer, it feels very wrong. The customer will bombard you with 10 questions. When they don’t get answers, they feel ripped off and do not come back,” the person added.

The company has also introduced promotional offers for newer astrologers. “Earlier, they used to give ₹5 per minute for free chats. Now, they are giving ₹1 per minute,” said one astrologer.

Disheartened by all these changes, one astrologer quit the platform. “As an astrologer, I need respect and I need money. I can’t sit like it’s a photocopy shop speaking to customers for a few minutes and earning ₹10 for it,” he told Mint.

Is it just entertainment?

Interestingly, Astrotalk has a disclaimer on its website that says its services are for entertainment purposes only and that it is not responsible for predictions or advice.

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There are no regulations in India governing astrology platforms. However, these startups have to generally comply with the IT Act and IT Rules as well as Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020, say legal experts. Astrotalk may be claiming that its services are for entertainment purposes only, but such disclaimers do not exempt a company from its legal obligations, they note.

“While the law has not specifically defined such activities as ‘entertainment’, astrology tech startups are simply trying to avoid any liability by claiming as such,” Salman Warris, a technology lawyer and founder of law firm TechLegis, told Mint. “But if a case goes to court, it will most probably be held otherwise. The court’s recognition of astrology as a science suggests that such platforms are accountable for the accuracy and reliability of the services they provide.”

Meanwhile, entertainment providers or otherwise observers expect Astrotalk to keep growing. “Urbanization, digital maturity of internet users and democratization of access to best-in-class astrologers are all tailwinds for the market growth in the space,” said Mukesh Kumar, Associate Partner at Redseer.

In a recent post on LinkedIn, founder Gupta said people would receive ₹100 in exchange for following Astrotalk’s official account on X, formerly Twitter, and sharing their number with the company to get the payout. Astrotalk has built itself up on the back of such marketing tactics. But, it may need to take a hard look at what the future holds if it pursues growth to the detriment of customers and astrologers, the two pillars supporting its lucrative business model. Gupta doesn’t need an astrologer to see that.