Wellness comes in many forms, and one Singapore-headquartered company hopes its mobile-enabled spiritual services can help users ascend.
Founded in 2019, Emerging Vision connects users with verified astrologers, tarot readers, life coaches and mentors. The livestreaming and virtual consultation platform is available on Android as Guruji and on iOS as Teller.
“Today’s users, especially Gen Z, now yearn for more seamless and accessible, digital-first approaches to improve their well-being,” says founder and CEO Alan Cui.
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The Chinese national is himself a tarot reader, certified by the London School of Astrology. For such a deeply personal experience, does he think a virtual session is as effective?
“It is true that online tarot reading cannot replicate the offline face-to-face experience under certain circumstances. For example, tarot readers use scented candles when consulting to create an ambience, but users are not able to smell it online,” Cui tells The Edge Singapore.
“However, online services have achieved a level of convenience that conventional consultation cannot match up to. With an online medium, not only are users provided with more options, they are free to get advice anytime and anywhere. We find that the benefits of an online experience outweigh any potential loss of experience,” adds the 34-year-old, who holds a Master’s degree in computer software engineering from Zhejiang University.
The company claims its two apps see 180,000 consultations monthly and almost all its users reside in India.
“We focus on the India market and are planning to pilot in the US this year. In India, more than 94% of smartphone users are using Android phones. We developed Guruji specially for the Indian market. For Teller, our target audience is Gen Z in the US and other regions where iPhones are more popular,” says Cui.
Emerging Vision’s platforms now host over 550 verified astrologers across more than 10 areas of expertise, including astrology, tarot reading, palmistry and numerology. They hold more than 200 live sessions daily on Guruji, which users can watch for free.
“Free public sessions build trust among new users; they can select the astrologer they trust by watching their live sessions,” says Cui.
For a more personal experience, there are two consultation options. For US$1 ($1.35), users can ask a question during an astrologer’s session, which they will spend five minutes answering.
The other option is a one-on-one virtual consultation, with an average payment of US$10. There is no time limit on these private sessions and users can ask as many questions as they want, says Cui.
In September, Emerging Vision raised US$4 million in its Series A funding round led by US venture capital firm Lightspeed Venture Partners, known for being Snapchat’s first external investor.
“Emerging Vision has created a transformative approach towards spiritual wellness at a time where there is fast growing demand globally for wellness solutions. We are excited to back the Emerging Vision team as it takes its next fundamental steps to expand its platforms across more markets and redefine spiritual wellness globally,” says Akshay Bhushan, partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners.
Now with US$5 million in total funding, Emerging Vision will enhance its Guruji and Teller platforms while scaling operations, says the company. That means adding to its staff of 40 employees in India, 20 in China, one in Singapore and two in the US.
“As Singapore is our headquarters, we aim to expand with at least 20 employees in the Singapore office in the next year,” adds Cui.
Header photo: Unsplash
Photos: Emerging Vision
