The spiritual technology startup AstroTalk has entered India's unicorn club, reaching a billion-dollar valuation through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) buyback program, according to available reports.
The spiritual technology startup AstroTalk has entered India's unicorn club, reaching a billion-dollar valuation through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) buyback program, according to available reports.
More than a hundred employees are involved in this program, which allows them to sell a portion of their shares and receive a share of the value created by the company. It is reported that this deal is financed by AstroTalk's operating profit, rather than by a new round of external funding.
AstroTalk was founded in 2017 by Puneet Gupta and Anmol Jain. Initially, the company operated as an online platform for astrological consultations but later expanded its activities into spiritual commerce. Through its AstroTalk Store, the company sells items such as stones, rudraksha beads, bracelets, and other spiritual goods.
In fiscal year 25 (FY25), AstroTalk recorded operational revenue of 1176 crore rupees, significantly exceeding the 651 crore rupees from the previous year. The company's total income reached 1214 crore rupees, and pre-tax profit increased to 285 crore rupees compared to 127 crore rupees.
The AstroTalk Store has become an important segment of the startup's business, generating over 140 crore rupees in revenue in 2025 and processing more than 1.6 million orders. Reaching a billion-dollar valuation represents substantial growth compared to the approximately $300 million recorded in 2024.
Moss, a Berlin-based company, has successfully raised €30 million (equivalent to £25 million) in a Series C round. This funding allowed the company to achieve unicorn status with a valuation exceeding one billion. The funds will be used to significantly accelerate the development of its Finance AI platform for European corporate clients.
Furthermore, Moss plans to expand its digital expense management services for small and medium-sized enterprises across Europe. Portage led the Series C round, and previous investor Cherry Ventures also participated. Moss's total funding since its founding in 2019 now exceeds €160 million.
This move comes amid the growing adoption of artificial intelligence by companies to simplify financial tasks and improve decision-making processes. It is believed that further growth will be seen in solutions that combine automation and human involvement to enhance financial efficiency without compromising accuracy or compliance.
Moss intends to use the new capital to go beyond traditional expense management by creating a broader suite of AI-powered tools for finance teams. The company is developing customizable AI agents capable of assisting financial professionals with routine operational tasks while ensuring that final business decisions remain under human control.
Rather than allowing AI to make autonomous financial decisions, the Moss platform is designed to prepare the work, explain every recommendation, and require user approval before executing critical actions.
Ante Spitzler, CEO and co-founder, stated that the next phase of the company's work will focus on providing AI that boosts productivity while maintaining transparency and accountability across all financial workflows.
Moss was founded in 2019 by Ante Spitzler, Anton Rummel, Ferdinand Maier, and Stefan Haselbacher. The company provides businesses with a comprehensive expense management solution that simplifies core departmental financial tasks.
The platform's software integrates corporate payment cards, invoice processing, employee expenses, and accounting, allowing users to manage the latter in real-time and budget in one place.
Moss relies on intelligent AI agents that automatically classify and reconcile transactions, thereby reducing tedious manual reconciliation at the end of the reporting period. The company reports processing over two million transactions monthly.
More than 5,000 companies in the UK, Netherlands, Germany, and Austria use Moss software, which has achieved an annual recurring revenue of over €70 million while maintaining a growth rate of approximately 65%.
Artificial intelligence is becoming a central element of Moss's long-term product strategy. The company believes that this human-in-the-loop approach will increase trust while allowing organizations to benefit from faster financial operations.
Unlike some competing financial software providers, Moss believes that finance teams must retain full control over important decisions. Its AI is designed to assist, not replace, financial professionals.
Company research confirms this approach. In a survey conducted by Moss among 471 finance executives, nearly half of respondents cited control as the most important factor when implementing AI-based financial tools, while only a small minority preferred fully autonomous systems.
The latest funding allows Moss to strengthen its presence in the growing European fintech market. The company currently operates from Berlin, with additional offices in Tallinn and Amsterdam, and employs about 339 people.
Moss competes with several global expense management platforms but believes that its focus on explainable AI and human oversight gives it a significant competitive advantage as finance departments increasingly adopt automation.
