Millions of social media users in India are left in limbo after Koo, a homegrown microblogging platform touted as an alternative to Twitter, announced the cessation of its services.
The platform’s founders cited a funding shortage and exorbitant technology costs as reasons for their decision.
Launched in 2020, Koo gained prominence in 2021 when several Indian ministers endorsed it amidst a dispute between the Indian government and Twitter (formerly known as X).
The conflict arose when Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration requested Twitter to block accounts accused of spreading fake news, including those of journalists, news outlets, and opposition politicians.
Although Twitter initially complied, it later reinstated the accounts, citing insufficient justification.
This led to continued tension, with the government threatening legal action against Twitter’s employees in India.
During this standoff, numerous supporters, cabinet ministers, and officials from Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swiftly migrated to Koo, advocating for Twitter’s ban in India through shared hashtags.
By the end of 2021, Koo had amassed 20 million downloads in the country.
Despite its initial success, Koo struggled to secure adequate funding in recent years.
Founders Aprameya Radhakrishna and Mayank Bidawatka expressed optimism in early 2022 about surpassing Twitter in India but lamented a prolonged funding drought that dashed their hopes.
“We explored partnerships with multiple larger internet companies, conglomerates, and media houses but these talks didn’t yield the outcome we wanted,” the founders explained on LinkedIn.
“Most of them didn’t want to deal with user-generated content and the unpredictable nature of a social media company. A few of them changed priorities at the last moment.”
Earlier reports in February 2023 suggested that Koo was negotiating acquisition by news aggregator Dailyhunt, but these discussions proved unsuccessful.
In April 2023, Koo downsized its workforce by 30% as financial losses mounted.
The founders expressed regret over shuttering the app but highlighted the prohibitive costs associated with maintaining its technological infrastructure.
Source-BBC
