'Yellow Bird Says Final Goodbye': Koo Co-Founder Announces Shutting India's Microblogging Social Media Platform

Co-founder of India's microblogging social media platform 'Koo', Mayank Bidawatka informed on LinkedIn that they will be discontinuing their service to the public as their partnership talks fell through.

In a post titled, "The little yellow bird says its final goodbye," Bidawatka explained that they could not sustain the cost of running technology services to keep Koo running.

He elaborated that their intention with Koo was to "democratise expression and enable a better way to connect people in their local languages," contrary to English-dominant X.

"We believe that India should have a place at the table," Bidawatka said recalling how Koo could beat Twitter in India in 2022 with superior systems and algorithms favourable to creators.

"A prolonged funding winter which hit us at our peak hurt our plans," the Koo co-founder said explaining that they needed five to six years of aggressive, long-term and patient capital but couldn't get it.

Blaming the mood of the market, Bidawatka said that their dream to make Koo an international brand remains unfulfilled. He thanked his team for sticking around through thick and thin.

On the future strategic outlook, he said that more capital and safeguards from the market's whims will be needed to nurture a larger long-term play from Indian companies.