Astrology marketplace Izofy raises seed funding

Izofy, an online marketplace that connects users with astrologers, numerologists, tarot readers, vaastu consultants and healers, has raised an undisclosed amount in seed funding from Prime Capital Markets Ltd.

Kolkata-based iZodiaque Numerology Services Pvt Ltd, the company which owns and operates Izofy, will use the money for product development, improving technology and to build a marketing strategy for increasing customers, as per a press statement.

On the Izofy platform, users can post their problems and experts would pitch in with solutions depending on the user's budget. Co-founder Rohit Singhania claims that Izofy receives about 200 monthly queries and that it has on-boarded 50 active experts.

The company has a rating mechanism to help users decide which expert to choose, the statement said.  Izofy also offers a match maker service - using western zodiac, Indian Vedic astrology and numerology - to suggest compatibility among couples.

Izofy competes with more established players such as Astrospeak, Astrosage and Ganeshaspeaks.com for a chunk of the occult sciences market, which is said to be worth $2 billion in India and the US alone.

The startup was founded by former banker Singhania along with Anirudh Singhania and Namit Rai Surana. Singhania has worked at Hewlett Packard, Kotak Mahindra and Axis Bank prior to launching Izofy.

Singhania has worked in the software industry for about 18 years across tech platforms and companies.

Surana is a product manager with Facebook in San Francisco.