4-year-old Indian alternative to X and startup, Koo, is reportedly shutting down after talks with Dailyhunt (an online media portal) to acquire the microblogging site collapsed today.
The Morning Context reported, citing an unnamed source.
The yellow birded X’s alternative started as a homegrown competitor to Twitter in 2020 by Aprameya Radhakrishna and Mayank Bidawatka. Koo's original idea was to promote native language through technology as India has such a wide range of languages.
It also became the first Indian microblogging site available in over 10 languages.
It has, since, garnered over 6 crore downloads.
Celebrities and ministers widely promoted the Bangalore-based venture, particularly associated with right-wing politics.
Financial and Expansion Details:
The company even managed to garner investor attention and expand to Nigeria and Brazil.
In February 2021, the company raised $4.1 million in its Series A round, and three months later, it raised another $31 million led by the American investment firm Tiger Global.
By June 2022, Koo had raised over $57 million and reached its peak valuation of $285.5 million, with the app reaching over 9 million monthly active users by July 2022.
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