(RNS) — On Thursday (Dec. 2), Glorify, an app meant to help Christians strengthen their daily connection to God, announced it will be receiving $40 million of Series A funding to support its growth.
The funding is led by a16z, a venture capital firm, with participation from SoftBank Latin America Fund and K5 Global, an investment firm. There are also several prominent celebrity investors, including Michael Bublé, Kris Jenner and Jason Derulo.
“It’s just a ridiculously exciting time,” said Ed Beccle, co-founder of London-based Glorify. “I feel like I am constantly pinching myself.”
Beccle said this money will mostly go to two places: hiring talented employees to build Glorify’s team and user acquisition, which includes buying ad space for promotion and product development. Beccle also said they want to develop their prayer section, making it easier to share and ask for prayers on social media through the app.
“It’s time to turn Glorify into something that is a little more viral and shareable,” said Beccle.
RELATED: Prayer apps are flooding the market, but how well do they work?
The app, which Beccle said has seen most of its growth over the past six months, is designed to bring users closer to God through daily meditation and prayer. When basic users open the Glorify app they see an inspiring daily quote, followed by a short Bible passage and devotional reading. Subscribers, who pay $9.49 monthly or $63.99 annually, get access to the full daily worship experience, including a daily audible reflection and other premium content like meditations, declarations and prayers.
Glorify app founders Henry Costa, left, and Ed Beccle. Courtesy photo
Funding from high profile investors means the faith-based technology space is growing, said Beccle. Celebrity investors like Bublé and Jenner, who have both been candid about their faith, were exactly the type of people Beccle and his co-founder, Henry Costa, wanted to work with, he said.
“We always kept front of mind that we only really wanted to let people in if they shared our values,” said Beccle.
In a statement provided to Religion News Service, Bublé said: “Prayer has been such an important part of my life. With Glorify, we now have the tools to find moments throughout the day to connect with God on our own terms.”
A daily worship devotional in the Glorify app. Courtesy image
RELATED: There’s an app for that: Christian mindfulness, meditation apps find their moment
Currently, Glorify has 937 reviews on the Apple App Store and a 4.9 rating. Beccle said Glorify stands out from other mindfulness and meditation apps, like secular Calm and Headspace or Christian Abide, because of the community it is trying to build.
“What we want to do with Glorify is really build deep, tight-knit, meaningful communities where every interaction has a reason and has a purpose,” said Beccle.