Koo Shuts Down: The Rise and Fall of India's Twitter Rival

Social media platform Koo, once considered a viable alternative to Twitter in India, is shutting down. Co-founders Aprameya Radhakrishna and Mayank Bidawatka announced the closure, citing high operational costs and unsuccessful partnership talks. The platform peaked with 2.1 million daily active users but was hit hard by the funding winter.

Social media platform Koo, which had pitched itself as a rival and viable alternative to Twitter (now X), is shutting down. Co-founders Aprameya Radhakrishna and Mayank Bidawatka on Wednesday penned a heartfelt note detailing tough decisions and the little yellow bird bidding its 'final goodbye'.

In a LinkedIn post, the co-founders announced that the platform will discontinue its services to the public. Talks for a partnership with multiple larger internet companies, conglomerates, and media houses did not yield the desired outcomes.

'We explored partnerships with multiple larger internet companies, conglomerates, and media houses but these talks didn't yield the outcome we wanted,' the note said.

They noted that although they would have liked to keep the app running, the cost of technology services to maintain a social media app is high, prompting the tough decision of shutting it down.

At its peak, Koo grossed about 2.1 million daily active users, 10 million monthly active users, and over 9,000 VIPs, including prominent personalities from various fields.

'We were just months away from beating Twitter in India in 2022 and could have doubled down on that short-term goal with capital behind us,' they stated.

However, a funding winter hit the company at its peak, hurting plans and forcing the platform to 'tone down' its growth trajectory.

'Unfortunately for us, the market's mood and the funding winter got the better of us,' the note mentioned as the founders signed off, saying, 'the little yellow bird says its final goodbye,' referencing Koo's yellow bird logo.

It may be recalled that Koo's popularity in India peaked around 2021 amid the Indian government's spat with Twitter and growing calls for expanding the ecosystem of homegrown digital platforms.

During that time, Koo experienced significant growth in user metrics as union ministers and government departments endorsed the homegrown microblogging platform.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)