The Indian social networking site Koo, which sought to compete with Twitter, is closing. The decision was made public by the founders, Aprameya Radhakrishna and Mayank Bidawatka, who cited expensive technological expenditures and unsuccessful partnership negotiations. In April 2023, the corporation began to lay off a sizable portion of its personnel.
#Koo, India’s homegrown microblogging platform with about 10 million active users, is wrapping up its operations after failing to secure crucial partnerships and funding.
Details here 🔗 https://t.co/0EgbpH7N1d pic.twitter.com/zIk7vEnkuN
— The Times Of India (@timesofindia) July 3, 2024
Rising to the Challenge
At its height, Koo boasted over 9,000 VIP members and 2.1 million daily active users, out of a total of 10 million monthly users. They had to scale back despite their achievements due to financial difficulties and a protracted financing freeze. The founders identified two key problems: the unpredictability of the financial market and the high cost of technology.
Additionally, the company’s founders announced their plan to sell off a portion of its assets. The creators wrote, “We will be happy to share some of these assets with someone who has a great vision for India’s foray into social media.”
Financial Hurdles for Koo
From the start, the platform was directly compared to Twitter, and as Elon Musk took over the microblogging site, it began to acquire popularity. “We built a globally scalable product in a fraction of the time that X/Twitter did, with superior systems, algorithms and strong stakeholder-first philosophies,” read the memo.
They thanked their sponsors, team, investors, creators, and users in their parting statement. Regarding upcoming endeavors, they are still upbeat. The founders still expect to see an inclusive platform in the future, despite the platform’s closure.
Conclusion
Koo, despite early promise and a dedicated user base, succumbed to financial pressures and failed partnership talks. Launched with ambitions to rival Twitter, it attracted VIP users and achieved daily activity milestones. However, a harsh financial climate and the high cost of maintaining a social media platform ultimately led to scaling back and ultimately, closure. The founders, while disappointed, remain optimistic about the future of Indian social media and plan to leverage their assets to support a new contender in the space. They leave with a final thank you to those who supported their vision.
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