look news india
Koo, which started as an Indian alternative to social media platform X (Twitter), is now shutting down. Koo was started in the year 2020 with the desire to become a Made in India social media platform and aspires to become a global brand. According to Indian media reports, Koo co-founder Aprameya Radhakrishna announced the closure of Koo in a LinkedIn post on Wednesday.
Koo was once seen as a rival to Twitter. In 2021, several Union ministers also created their accounts on Koo. Many state governments and various government departments were also attracted to this social media platform. Despite receiving funding from American investment company Tiger Global, it has been decided to shut it down. Koo was to take over Dailyhunt but this did not happen.
As Koo co-founders Aprameya Radhakrishna and Mayank Bidawatka said in a LinkedIn post, 'We tried to partner with several large internet companies, groups and media houses, but discussions with them did not yield the results we wanted. Some people changed priorities as soon as they signed. Although we wanted to continue the app, the cost of technical services to continue the social media app is very high, which led us to take this difficult decision.'
Koo's tough time started from September 2022
Koo's tough times began in September 2022 when the company laid off 40 employees. In February 2023, Mayank Bidwatka warned employees that more layoffs were on the way. Two months later in April 2023, the company laid off 30 percent of its workforce. That month, Koo's monthly active users (MAUs) fell to 3.1 million. This was the third consecutive month of decline in MAUs. Koo's MAUs were 4.1 million in January 2023, which fell to 3.5 million in February and 3.2 million in March. Koo's MAUs crossed 9.4 million during the confrontation between Twitter and the Indian government. Founded in 2020 by Aprameya Radhakrishna and Mayank Bidwatka, Koo was the first Indian microblogging site available in more than 10 languages. The app, with a yellow bird logo, has been downloaded over 60 million times since its launch.
The dream of becoming a global brand remained unfulfilled
Koo's last valuation was $274 million after raising over $66 million from investors including Three One Four Capital. Koo has been struggling to raise new capital since 2023. It tried to merge with several platforms but talks with none were successful. As Koo's co-founders said in a LinkedIn post, social media is probably one of the most difficult companies to run.
