India’s Koo, a Twitter Alternative, to Cease Operations

Homegrown microblogging platform Koo, which had advertised itself as an alternative to X, has abruptly terminated its services, leaving millions of social media users in India stranded

According to the platform’s proprietors, the decision was attributed to a lack of funding and the high cost of technology.
Koo, introduced in 2020, provided communications services in over ten Indian languages.

In 2021, it rose to prominence due to the endorsement of numerous ministers during a dispute between the Indian government and X, which was then known as Twitter.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government requested that the US-based platform disable a list of accounts it claimed were disseminating fake news, which sparked the dispute. Journalists, news organizations, and opposition politicians comprised the list.

The accounts were initially restored by X, who cited “insufficient justification” for initially complying.

The confrontation persisted as the Indian government issued legal threats against the company’s employees.

Amid the dispute, a sudden influx of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) officials, cabinet ministers, and supporters migrated to Koo overnight. Numerous individuals distributed hashtags advocating for the prohibition of X in India.

20 million downloads of the application had been achieved in the nation by the conclusion of 2021.
Nevertheless, the platform has encountered significant funding challenges in recent years.

Aprameya Radhakrishna and Mayank Bidawatka, the proprietors of Koo, stated on Wednesday that the company was “just months away” from surpassing X in India in 2022. However, they were compelled to reduce their aspirations due to a “prolonged funder winter.”

They stated on LinkedIn, “We explored partnerships with numerous larger internet companies, conglomerates, and media houses; however, these discussions did not result in the desired outcome.”

“Most of them were unwilling to contend with the unpredictable nature of a social media company and user-generated content.” Two of them altered their priorities almost immediately before the signing.

Indian news websites had reported in February that Koo was in discussions to be acquired by news aggregator Dailyhunt. However, the negotiations were unsuccessful.

Koo terminated 30% of its 260-member personnel in April 2023 due to severe losses and a lack of funding.

The founders expressed their desire to maintain the app’s functionality; however, the expense of technology services was prohibitive, necessitating them to make this difficult decision.