A Chicago startup that makes a popular prayer app for Catholics raised a new round of funding from some big names.
Hallow, an app focused on Catholic prayer and meditation, said Wednesday it raised a $40 million Series B round from Drive Capital, Peter Thiel, Teamworthy Ventures, Narya VC, Contrary Capital, Uncork Capital, Susa Ventures and Scott Malpass. The investment follows a $12 million round the startup raised just last April. It has now raised $52 million to date.
Founded in 2018 by Alex Jones, Alessandro DiSanto and Erich Kerekes, Hallow has created a guided meditation and prayer app that includes more than 3,000 sessions of bible readings, prayers and other Catholic-centric content. Its app has been downloaded more than 1.5 million times and has helped facilitate over 25 million prayers from users in 150 countries, the company said.
Hallow gives some of its content away for free, but charges users $60 per year to access its entire app. The startup says user growth has skyrocketed this year, with prayers increasing 700% this month compared to the same time last year.
The pandemic has helped fuel this growth, the company says.
"More than ever, our world is tired," Jones said in a blog post Wednesday. "We’re exhausted by the pandemic, tired of politics, depressed by the suffering and pain in the world, stressed with juggling child care and work, made anxious by our addictions, large and small. We are looking for rest, for peace, for a light amidst all of this darkness."
Hallow is carving out a niche in the booming meditation app market, which includes juggernauts like Calm and Headspace, which are both valued at more than $1 billion.
