Koo, desi alternative to Twitter, closes operations

Koo, which was once touted as a locally-developed desi alternative to global micro-blogging giant Twitter (that had been having frequent run-ins with govt over content moderation), is shutting down operations.
The alternate social media platform, which was also adopted whole-heartedly by govt, ministers and ministries after Twitter (now called X) had refused to accept every content takedown request from ministries (especially at the height of farmers agitation against three farm laws), said it is closing shop after failing to get investors that would helped it stay afloat.
Koo was originally launched in 2020, but its popularity soared around 2021 after nagging differences between govt and Twitter. In the days of its heady growth, Koo snapped up about 2.1 million daily active users and about 10 million monthly active users, and had marquee investors like Tiger Global, Accel, 3one4 Capital, and Kalaari Capital backing it. However, prolonged funding winter and failed acquisition talks took a toll on the platform which later struggled with dwindling user base and resorted to layoffs, last year.
In a post, co-founders Aprameya Radhakrishna and Mayank Bidawatka announced that the platform will be discontinuing its services to the public and that the little yellow bird is bidding a final goodbye (a reference to Koo’s logo).