Koo closes operations after failed takeover talks

What’s new: Microblogging platform Koo is shutting down its service after acquisition talks fell through, according to a post by company co-founder Mayank Bidawatka on LinkedIn on July 3, 2024. Koo is an Indian platform founded in 2020 that was once seen as an alternative to X (formerly Twitter) in the country.

“We considered partnerships with many larger internet companies, conglomerates and media houses, but those talks did not yield the expected results. Most of them did not want to deal with user-generated content and the wild nature of a social media company,” Bidawatka said in his post, adding that some companies changed their priorities just before the signing.

Koo is willing to share his wealth:

“Market sentiment” and “funding winter” were cited as reasons for the closure, but Koo said it was “pleased to share some of its assets” with those anticipating “India’s entry into the social media market.”

“We will also consider turning this into a digital public good that enables social conversations in native languages ​​around the world,” Koo said.

Dailyhunt was previously in talks to acquire Koo:

On March 1, news aggregator Dailyhunt was reportedly in advanced talks to acquire Koo. The deal was being discussed as a share swap deal, and Bidawatka asked for patience until the company provided specific details of the partnership.

Bidawatka has previously signaled funding troubles, noting that the company would only be able to grow through funding or partnering with someone who already has scale. “In the current reality of a slow investor market, the best way forward is to partner with someone who has the distribution muscle to give Koo a huge boost to users and help it grow,” he wrote in a LinkedIn post last year.

According to its latest LinkedIn post, Koo claims to have around 2.1 million daily active users, around 10 million monthly active users, and over 9,000 VIPs, including some of the most prominent figures from various fields on the platform.

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