When you're thinking of novel uses of AI, the Bible might not be the first that springs to mind. But a Romanian-founded company has developed Bible Chat, the 5th most downloaded app worldwide, outpacing WhatsApp and Instagram and challenging American tech giants on their home turf.
Bible Chat is a faith-based app designed to help Christians deepen their understanding of the Bible, strengthen their faith, and find daily spiritual support.
The app is developed by a team of Christians—software engineers, entrepreneurs, and marketers—who believe in leveraging modern technology to make biblical learning accessible and engaging for everyone, regardless of denomination.
I spoke to Laurențiu-Victor Bălașa, co-founder and CEO of Bible Chat, to learn more. Bălașa is a serial founder and angel investor who's been building businesses since the age of 15 – Bible Chat is his 8th business.
According to Bălașa, until 2019, he was driven mainly by material goals.
"I grew up poor in Eastern Europe, and success meant financial security."
He was the co-founder of T-Me Studios, one of the largest consumer app publishers in Europe, with over 400 million uses and 3 billion app downloads across its portfolio. It was acquired by Mocha Technology Holdings in 2021.
Bălașa shared that the business had scaled to over 100 people and was doing tens of millions in revenue.
"But the work felt meaningless. We were building small games and tools that didn't truly matter."
After selling, he went through a period of depression and started reading philosophy and religious texts, including the Bible.
"Through that period, I came to a realisation: suffering is the one thing that unites us all. Regardless of background, belief, or status, everyone suffers.
And if suffering is a universal human experience, I wanted to dedicate myself to minimising it."
He asked himself about the skills he possessed which could help.
"I know how to build apps and scale startups. So, I decided to build an app that helps people suffer less — a kind of mental health tool for Christians. That's what Bible Chat is."
A spiritual companion powered by AI
Bible Chat currently has around 5 million monthly active users, just over a year after its launch. According to Bălașa, It's the fastest-growing faith-based app ever. About 70 per cent of its users are in the US, but It has global traction.
People use Bible Chat to ask questions about their daily challenges — anything from arguing with a spouse or struggling at work to coping with grief, depression, or PTSD. The app responds with answers grounded in the Bible, offering certainty, comfort, and theological guidance.
Bălașa likens it to a mental health companion for Christians rooted in Scripture. It brings spiritual support into people's everyday lives.
Bălașa explained that the app has some unique features. Upon being onboarded, users choose their preferred Bible translation — which supports over a dozen — and denomination, such as Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Baptist, etc.
The AI tailors responses accordingly so they remain theologically sound and denomination-specific.
Bible Chat has invested considerable time in incorporating theological frameworks, ensuring that each user receives answers aligned with their specific tradition. For example, it understands doctrinal nuances. Different denominations interpret passages differently — for instance, Baptists and Catholics approach baptism differently, even though the text is the same.
Bible Chat doesn't support every denomination — there are over 30,000 in the US alone — but works with the major, recognised traditions that fall within the common corpus of Christianity.
The company works with pastors, priests, and biblical scholars worldwide to ensure its AI gives relevant, accurate answers, and believes it's the most advanced Christian AI to date. They're especially involved especially in refining answers around sensitive topics — LGBTQ+ identity, transhumanism, suicide, depression, gender, and more.
I wanted to understand how the company ensures the AI doesn't reinforce harmful interpretations of Scripture.
According to Bălașa:
"We have strong guardrails in place. We don't support fringe or extreme denominations. We've worked closely with scholars to ensure the AI avoids offensive or harmful messaging.
Our answers are always grounded in Scripture, but also in compassion and theological integrity."
A category-creator in faithtech
Bălașa attributes the success of the app to the fact that the idea of interacting with the Bible via questions — especially through AI — is new.
"We invented the AI Bible Q&A category — there was nothing like it two years ago. Since then, others have followed, but we were first to market and are still the largest."
Out of nearly 5,000 Bible-related apps, Bible Chat is the most downloaded globally.
People are responding to the personal, immediate nature of it. You might not have access to a pastor at 2 am, or you may be privacy-conscious. Bible Chat is always available, rooted in Scripture, and respectful of your traditions."
Many pastors use it to prepare sermons and for personal spiritual engagement.
Tech-first, mission-focused
In terms of business model, the app is free to use, and about 97 per cent of users don't pay. A small percentage subscribe to a premium plan. While the company is venture-backed, it raised €13.4 million in February this year and is committed to building something meaningful.
Bălașa admits that it's not easy raising from Europe for a faith-based product, especially one operating in the US, but the growth and impact speak for themselves.
It also runs a registered charity that operates globally — in Asia, Europe, and the US — supporting education, humanitarian aid, and mental health.
Bălașa contends: "We see ourselves as a purpose-driven startup: profit with a mission."
In terms of tech, Bible Chat moves fast, with team members free to experiment and be part of a group of people who want to build for good. Bible Chat is always looking for people passionate about using AI to help others.
"We'd love for more AI nerds with heart to join our mission."
It hosts and fine-tunes multiple LLMs ourselves, building a proprietary refinement layer on top, which enables the company to specialise deeply in faith-based language and theological accuracy.
Aiming for a billion Christians
Bible Chat's long-term goal is to reach 1 billion Christians — roughly half the global Christian population. It's expanding our Android presence and has recently launched community features, allowing people to submit prayer requests and pray together in real-time.
According to Bălașa, "it's bringing ancient spiritual rituals into a virtual space."
"Prayer is the core of the religious community, and we're helping people experience that digitally, with sincerity and depth."
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