India microbloging startup koo shuts down
Social media startup “Koo”, which established itself as a domestic alternative to X, is now shutting down. Why is India’s social media app shutting down, know:
The social media platform “Koo” created in 2019 is now going to shut down. Koo started in the year 2020 with the desire to become a Made in India social media platform. Its aspiration was to become a global brand.
According to Indian media reports, Koo’s co-founder Aprameya Radhakrishna announced its closure in a LinkedIn post on July 3. Koo was once considered a rival of X (formerly Twitter). It also received funding from American investment company Tiger Global.
According to reports, Koo’s challenges began in September 2022 with layoffs and declining monthly active users (MAUs). Here’s a summary of the key points:
Layoffs: The company started laying off employees in September 2022 and continued in April 2023, affecting 30% of its workforce.
Declining MAUs: Koo’s MAUs have fallen for three consecutive months, reaching 3.1 million in April 2023. This decline comes after a period of high growth due to tensions between Twitter and the Indian government.
Despite these challenges, Koo has a strong foundation:
Founded in 2020, it was the first Indian microblogging site available in multiple languages.
The app has been downloaded nearly 60 million times.