Latest news with #Vaya
Time of India
15-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
AI becomes spiritual guide for customers on devotional apps
Academy Empower your mind, elevate your skills Spiritual and devotional platforms like AppsForBharat Utsav and Bhagva , and astrology startup Vaya are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence, for matching devotees with the right priests and translating chants in real time to training models to predict astrological aspects such as planetary movement and understand birth push for the use of AI by these startups comes as they look to deepen engagement and enhance the virtual spiritual experience for models are being fine-tuned using large volumes of astrological texts, allowing AI to provide foundational information such as on birth charts, planetary positions and divisional charts, which is often considered the most critical layer in answering user questions about careers or marriages. However, startup executives said the final step of interpretation still requires human startup Vaya, which recently raised around Rs 13 crore in a funding round co-led by early-stage venture capital firms Accel and Arkam Ventures, is deploying 30-40% of the funds into AI-related developments.'Astrology involves four steps: creating the birth chart, gathering details to answer specific questions, analysing those details in depth, and finally, interpreting the findings. What AI is able to do is assist much more effectively with the first three steps — analysing, gathering information and presenting it — which significantly improves both accuracy and the overall user experience,' Vaya cofounder Maahin Puri said, adding that 50–60% of the process can be effectively handled by devotional space has seen a surge in online engagement after the pandemic, with a renewed interest in spiritual practices which is driving growth for these to Jagriti Motwani, founder and promoter of Bhagva which allows users to book pooja services, the platform is not just using AI to offer puja recommendations but also to match users with pandits who are best suited to the type of puja, occasion, and their specific spiritual needs.'The platform is also working towards creating personalised puja kits. These will be curated using AI to suggest exactly what ritual items are needed, depending on the user's intent and the type of puja being performed,' said Motwani. It is also planning to integrate natural language processing for real-time translations of chants and the main business continues to focus on puja bookings and related services such as ecommerce, startup executives say AI-driven content and assistance will serve as key tools to engage and retain Kolkata-based startup Utsav, 50-60% of user acquisitions happen through content, said cofounder Ankita De. 'A lot of it is dependent on content. It's a very critical part of the entire funnel where content drives the users.'AI has also helped these platforms speed up and simplify their content creation process, making it quicker and more streamlined.'The pace at which we are creating content now compared to, say, six months ago is definitely much faster and more efficient, and AI has certainly helped with that,' De the parent company of devotional platform Sri Mandir, is building an AI-powered co-pilot designed to guide and support users in their spiritual journeys.'Now, every user on Sri Mandir needs assistance, and we are creating that assistance layer. The information that devotees want to engage with today includes darshan, content around mantras, chalisas, chants and literature on Hinduism. This will be fed to AI Panditji, who will then pass it on to you in your language,' said founder Prashant move is expected to strengthen user trust and engagement, ultimately improving all major platform metrics, he comes at a time when devotional platforms are expanding their reach beyond India, targeting the affluent and culturally connected Indian diaspora to boost both sales and subscriber numbers, ET had reported While these startups are aggressively chasing user growth, they're also catching the eye of venture capital firms. Many have secured fresh funding rounds in recent months, signalling strong investor confidence in their expansion this month, AppsForBharat raised Rs 175 crore in a funding round led by Susquehanna Asia Venture Capital. In April, Bhagva raised about Rs 8.6 crore, while Utsav raised Rs 6.35 crore in a funding round led by Mumbai-based venture capital fund Equanimity Investments in January. Noida-based startup AstroTalk is reportedly in talks to raise $50–100 million at a unicorn valuation.
Associated Press
11-06-2025
- Automotive
- Associated Press
Vaya Space Announces $4 Million Strategic Partnership with Velo3D to Advance Additive Manufacturing for Space Propulsion
'Velo3D offers the production readiness, material capabilities, and deep technical partnership we need to bring our vision to life and deliver flight-ready engines on schedule.'— Aaron Blankenship, Vice President of Operations at Vaya Space COCOA, FL, UNITED STATES, June 11, 2025 / / -- Vaya Space, a space and defense company developing breakthrough hybrid rocket systems on Florida's Space Coast, today announced a strategic partnership with Velo3D, Inc. (OTCQX: VLDX), a leader in additive manufacturing (AM) technology known for transforming aerospace and defense supply chains through world-class metal AM. The two companies have signed a $4 million, two-year Master Services Agreement (MSA) to collaborate on high-performance additive manufacturing R&D and production. Vaya Space selected Velo3D as a key strategic partner in its propulsion development roadmap. Through the agreement, Vaya Space will leverage Velo3D's Rapid Production Solution (RPS) to accelerate production of critical propulsion system components and meet key development timelines. Utilizing Velo3D's Sapphire printer platform, Vaya Space will print parts in both GRCop42—a NASA-developed copper alloy for high-heat transfer and strength—and Inconel 718, a nickel superalloy known for strength and thermal resilience in aerospace applications. Vaya currently uses the Sapphire platform to produce the world's first expander cycle hybrid rocket engine; under the agreement, the two companies will work together to optimize Sapphire's printing parameters, increasing part quality and reducing unit cost and production time. As part of the partnership, Velo3D will serve as Vaya Space's exclusive provider of GRCop42 additive components, delivering guaranteed capacity, advanced engineering support, and Flow™ software training to streamline design-to-production cycles for propulsion assemblies including nozzles, injectors, and turbopumps. The two companies will work collaboratively to produce high-quality engine components for aerospace and defense applications faster and at a lower cost than traditionally achievable. The combination of Velo's closed loop in-situ monitoring with Vaya's fuel grain and tank manufacturing processes will enable full hybrid rocket engines to be produced in days, with the ability to adjust designs and tailor performance profiles to meet the demands of any mission profile. 'Additive manufacturing plays a central role in our ability to reduce design complexity, increase performance, and scale production,' said Aaron Blankenship, Vice President of Operations at Vaya Space. 'Velo3D offers the production readiness, material capabilities, and deep technical partnership we need to bring our vision to life and deliver flight-ready engines on schedule.' 'This partnership is a powerful example of how our Rapid Production Solution helps scale complex hardware manufacturing for today's most ambitious aerospace companies,' said Dr. Arun Jeldi, CEO of Velo3D. 'By combining our capabilities in GRCop42 and Inconel 718 with deep engineering collaboration, we're helping Vaya Space achieve faster, more cost-effective production—right here in the United States.' The agreement includes a joint marketing roadmap and formal signing event at Vaya Space's testing facility in Cocoa, Florida, where one of the propulsion systems produced with Velo3D parts will be on display. About Vaya Space Vaya Space is a privately owned company based on the Space Coast and leveraging patented Vortex-Hybrid engine technology to disrupt both the Space and Defense markets. About Velo3D Velo3D is a metal 3D printing technology company. 3D printing—also known as additive manufacturing (AM)—has a unique ability to improve the way high-value metal parts are built. However, legacy metal AM has been greatly limited in its capabilities since its invention almost 30 years ago. This has prevented the technology from being used to create the most valuable and impactful parts, restricting its use to specific niches where the limitations were acceptable. Velo3D has overcome these limitations so engineers can design and print the parts they want. The company's solution unlocks a wide breadth of design freedom and enables customers in space exploration, aviation, power generation, energy, and semiconductor to innovate the future in their respective industries. Using Velo3D, these customers can now build mission-critical metal parts that were previously impossible to manufacture. The fully integrated solution includes the Flow print preparation software, the Sapphire family of printers, and the Assure quality control system—all of which are powered by Velo3D's Intelligent Fusion manufacturing process. The company delivered its first Sapphire system in 2018 and has been a strategic partner to innovators such as SpaceX, Honeywell, Honda, Chromalloy, and Lam Research. Velo3D has been named as one of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies for 2024. For more information, please visit or follow the company on LinkedIn or Twitter. Mary Baldino Vaya Space + 13214465905 email us here Visit us on social media: LinkedIn Instagram Facebook YouTube X Legal Disclaimer: EIN Presswire provides this news content 'as is' without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. 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Economic Times
08-05-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
Astrology startup Vaya raises $1.5 million in round led by Accel, Arkam Ventures
Astrology startup Vaya has raised $1.5 million in a funding round co-led by Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm Accel and early-stage venture capital firm Arkam round also saw participation from Weekend Fund, along with angel investors including Sumer Juneja, managing partner for India and EMEA at SoftBank, and Sarthak Mishra, partner at SoftBank India. Founded in 2025 by Maahin Puri and Nitesh Kumar Niranjan, the Delhi-based Vedic astrology platform offers personalised consultations via a curated pool of astrologers, supported by an artificial intelligence (AI) engine that decodes complex astrological funds will be used for expanding the core team, strengthening its model, and building a community of Vedic astrology experts, Puri astrology is a large market in India, with the country's spirituality market estimated at around $58 billion, only 1.5–2% of it is online, he said. AnuvayaLabs Technologies, the parent company of Vaya, is 'aiming to build a trusted platform' for the mass-premium segment of the market, Puri told ET. 'The AI is used to take over much of the heavy lifting that astrologers don't need to do—such as understanding different planetary positions, assessing the strengths of planets, and performing calculations—so they can focus on what they know best, which is, human intuition and experience,' he two months ago, Vaya currently has around 11 in-house astrologers, with each session averaging 40 minutes. It follows a pay-per-minute model, offering time bundles that start at five minutes and extend to 20 and 40 aims to serve people in India as well as non-resident Indians (NRIs), with a focus on markets such as the US, followed by Canada.'Currently, our user base is primarily from metro cities—mainly tier 1 cities—with users who mostly speak English and Hindi. Mumbai and Delhi are our largest markets right now, followed by Bengaluru,' Puri to him, Vaya has 30,000-40,000 registered users on its platform.'India's spiritual and astrology services present a massive market opportunity. The horoscope segment alone in India is valued at nearly $10 billion. Yet, the consumer experience remains fragmented, informal, and largely offline,' said Rahul Chandra, managing director of Arkam. 'This is a sector primed for large-scale digital transformation.'Commenting on the investment, Manasi Shah, vice president at Accel, said, 'AI is transforming massive consumer spaces, enabling solutions to serve previously unmet needs. We are looking for the rare founders who blend cutting-edge technology with deep customer insights.' Vaya is competing with the likes of New Delhi-based startup Astrotalk, which last raised $14 million in a financing round led by Elev8 Venture Partners. Earlier, ET reported that devotional platforms are expanding their reach beyond India, targeting the affluent and culturally connected Indian diaspora to boost both sales and subscriber numbers.
