India’s Twitter Rival Little Yellow Bird “Koo” Shuts Down

Koo, the Indian social media platform that aimed to rival Twitter, is shutting down. Founders Aprameya Radhakrishna and Mayank Bidawatka announced the decision was made due to financial difficulties and an unpredictable market. Despite its achievements, the high cost of maintaining technology services and failed partnership talks led to this outcome. The company started laying off a significant part of the workforce in April 2023.

At its peak, Koo had around 2.1 million daily active users and 10 million monthly users, including over 9000 VIPs. Despite their success, financial challenges and a prolonged funding winter forced them to scale down. The founders highlighted the unpredictable capital market and high technology costs as major issues.

The founders also expressed their intentions to sell some of the assets of the company. The note from the founders stated, “We will be happy to share some of these assets with someone with a great vision for India’s foray into social media.”

The platform drew direct comparisons with Twitter from the launch and it gained traction after Elon Musk took over the micro-blogging site. “We built a globally scalable product in a fraction of the time that X/Twitter did, with superior systems, algorithms and strong stakeholder-first philosophies,” the note said.

Here are Koo’s growth plans in brief:

1) Language Expansion: Adding more regional languages.

2) Tech Improvements: Enhancing technology for a better user experience.

3) Global Reach: Expanding to international markets.

4) Monetization: Developing new revenue streams.

5) Partnerships: Forming strategic collaborations.

6) User Engagement: Increasing user interaction and content.

In their farewell message, they expressed gratitude to supporters, team, investors, creators, and users. They remain optimistic about future ventures. Despite its shutdown, the founders hope for an inclusive platform in the future.

Koo’s Financial Overview:

Total Funding: $50.4 million over seven rounds.

Latest Round: $6.3 million Convertible Note in November 2022.

Valuation: Approximately $100 million as of May 2021.

Key Investors: Accel, Tiger Global, 3one4 Capital, Dream Incubator, Kalaari Capital.

Koo’s latest funding round was a $6.3 million Convertible Note in November 2022. This type of funding converts into equity later, usually at a discount. The funds are likely being used to enhance technology, improve user experience, and support expansion efforts. Koo reduced its monthly cash burn from Rs 16 crore in January 2023 to Rs 10.2 crore in April 2023, though it missed its target of Rs 6.5 crore by March-end. The company has raised $65 million from investors like Accel, 3one4 Capital, Naval Ravikant, Balaji Srinivasan, Kalaari Capital, and others.

The founders hinted at their comeback as entrepreneurs. “As for us, we are entrepreneurs at heart and you will see us back in the arena one way or another. Till then, thank you for your time, attention, good wishes and love. The little yellow bird says its final goodbye…”

Koo had a unique place in the social media landscape, especially for Indian users. The co-founders, Aprameya Radhakrishna and Mayank Bidawatka, expressed their gratitude to supporters and hinted at future ventures. It’s a tough moment for the platform and its users, but the founders remain optimistic about their next steps.