The Indian dream of having an alternative to Twitter (now X) has been shattered as the ‘desi’ social media platform launched in 2020 with much fanfare, and with many top Indian politicians and Government departments joining in, is to shut down.
The world came to know about the yellow bird, Koo, stopping to chirp when its co-founders penned a touching note on Wednesday about the tough decision to bid adieu.
The disheartening news has been received with anguish by many Koo users. Die-hard Koo fan Vinit Goenka, former Governing Council Member of CRIS, Ministry of Railways, is upset with the news.
“This shutdown will be a significant setback for those who believe in the democratic values of social media, as it highlights the unending dominance of Western media and their colonisation of the social media app space,” he said.
In an emotion-filled post on LinkedIn, co-founders Aprameya Radhakrishna and Mayank Bidawatka shared their frustrating journey and insurmountable challenges, writing, “We explored partnerships with multiple larger internet companies, conglomerates, and media houses, but these talks didn’t yield the outcome we desired.”
They expressed their regret, saying, “While we would have loved to keep the app running, the high cost of technology and services to maintain a social media platform has forced us to take this tough decision.”
Founded in India, Koo soared to great heights, spreading its wings to Kenya and Brazil while in its prime. Its rise in Kenya followed the country’s indefinite ban on Twitter for deleting a tweet by Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari. Around 2021, Koo’s popularity surged in India amid a contentious spat between the Indian Government and Twitter.
This conflict prompted calls to expand the ecosystem of homegrown digital platforms, echoing strongly across the virtual world and propelling Koo to prominence. For a while, it seemed that this homegrown platform would significantly challenge and perhaps even surpass Twitter’s popularity in India.
However, this anticipated turn of event never came to pass as Twitter managed to smoothen its relationship with the Government.
Koo experienced a rollercoaster ride in its short existence. At its peak, this indigenous platform boasted around 2.1 million daily active users, approximately 10 million monthly active users, and over 9,000 VIPs, including some of the most 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 said.
“Unfortunately for us, the mood of the market and the fund crunch got the better of us,” the note mentioned as the founders signed off.
