Made in India competitor of Twitter, Koo shuts down after failed acquisition deal

By Team Startupcity  |  Thursday, 04 July 2024, 12:45 IST

Made in India competitor of Twitter, Koo shuts down after failed acquisition deal
India’s own app ‘Koo’ which was the greatest competitor of Twitter (now X) has decided to shut down their operation after securing more than $50 million in funding from investors, including Accel, Mega Trust, 7Square Ventures, Dream Incubator, Tiger Global Management, Kalaari Capital, 3one4 Capital, among others.They decided to call off their operation after the prolonged session of acquisition talk failed.
The founders of Koo, Aprameya Radhakrishna and Mayank Bidawatka mentioned in a LinkedIn post, "We explored partnerships with multiple larger internet companies, conglomerates and media houses but these talks didn't yield the outcome we wanted. Most of them didn't want to deal with user generated content and the wild nature of a social media company."
He also added that, the decision was indeed tough but they had to take it because they need huge funding to bear the high cost of technology services to keep the social media app running.
The social media platform Koo was started by Radhakrishna and Bidawatka in 2019 and was launched in March 2020.The company gained traction amidst the tough situation of the tussle between government and Twitter in 2021, over the government’s take down post related to farmer protests.
The potential agreements involved discussions with DailyHunt, a prominent content aggregator. Media reports indicate that these negotiations did not materialize, leaving Koo without a feasible way forward.
The founders also added that, Koo will now evaluate making its assets into a digital public good to enable social conversations in native languages, around the world.
Mayank Bidawatka and Aprameya Radhakrishna exclaimed, “We saw a big gap between the languages the world speaks and the fact that most social products especially X/Twitter in India are English dominant. In a world where 80% of the population speaks a langauge other than English, this is a strong need. We wanted to democratize expression and enable a better way to connect people in their local languages. We saw a big gap between the languages the world speaks and the fact that most social products especially X/Twitter in India are English dominant. In a world where 80% of the population speaks a langauge other than English, this is a strong need. We wanted to democratize expression and enable a better way to connect people in their local languages. ”
Saying the final farewell in the last they added, “Thank you for your time, attention, good wishes and love. The little birds says its final  Good Bye.”

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