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<keyword id="20143333" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="social-media-platform" source="keywords">Social media platform</keyword> <keyword id="20639239" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Koo" source="keywords">Koo</keyword>, which had pitched itself as a rival and viable alternative to <keyword id="19959118" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Twitter" source="keywords">Twitter</keyword> (now X), is shutting down with co-founders on Wednesday penning a heartfelt note about tough decisions and little yellow bird bidding "final goodbye". In a post on <keyword id="19951562" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="LinkedIn" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="LinkedIn" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="LinkedIn">LinkedIn</keyword>, co-founders <keyword id="20760806" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="aprameya-radhakrishna" source="keywords">Aprameya Radhakrishna</keyword> and Mayank Bidawatka announced that the platform will be discontinuing its services to the public, as talks for a <keyword id="19900447" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="partnership" source="keywords">partnership</keyword> with multiple larger internet companies, conglomerates and media houses did not yield the desired outcomes. "We explored partnership with multiple larger internet companies, conglomerates and media houses but these talks didn't yield the outcome we wanted," the note said. The duo said that although they would have liked to keep the app running, "the cost of technology services to keep social media app running is high and we've had to take this tough decision". Koo at its peak grossed about 2.1 million daily active users, about 10 million monthly active users, and over 9,000 VIPs that included some of the most prominent personalities from various fields. "We were just months away from beating Twitter in <keyword id="19895063" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="india" source="keywords">India</keyword> in 2022, and could have doubled down on that short term goal with capital behind us," they said. A <keyword id="20041080" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="funding-winter" source="keywords">funding winter</keyword>, however hit the company at its peak, hurting plans and forcing the platform to "tone down" its growth trajectory. "Unfortunately for us, the mood of the market and the funding winter got better of us," the note mentioned as the founders signed off saying, "the little yellow bird says its final goodbye" in a reference to Koo's yellow bird logo. It may be recalled that Koo's popularity in India peaked around 2021 amid the Indian government's spat with Twitter (now X) and growing calls for expanding the ecosystem of homegrown digital platforms. At its peak, Koo had experienced heady growth in its user metrics as union ministers and government departments at that time heavily endorsed the homegrown microblogging platform.

Curtains down for Koo; founders say little yellow bird bids final goodbye

New Delhi, Homegrown Twitter-like platform <keyword id="3518161" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="koo">Koo</keyword> has garnered over 10 lakh new users in just one week, surpassing the 40 lakh-figure in nearly 10 months of its arrival, as Twitter was caught in crosshairs with the Indian government over its direction to remove nearly 1,400 controversial accounts. Koo, a favourite among several Union ministers, including IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad who is at the forefront of the government's war with Twitter, has reached 4.2 million users within no time. According to data analytics platform Statista, as of January 2021, the micro-blogging platform Twitter had an audience reach of 69.3 million users in the US. Japan and India were ranked second and third with 50.9 and 17.5 million users, respectively. The fast-growing vernacular platform Koo describes itself as a personal updates and opinion sharing micro-blogging service. The app won the Atmanirbhar App Innovation Challenge held in August last year and Prime Minister <keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword> encouraged Indians to use the Koo app in his 'Mann Ki Baat' speech too. However, Koo also found itself in the midst of several controversies including a data leak row and Chinese investment. Koo Co-founder and CEO Aprameya Radhakrishna denied that there was any data leak. "Koo is an India registered company with Indian founders. Raised earlier capital 2.5 years ago. Latest funds for Bombinate Technologies is led by a truly Indian investor 3one4 capital. Shunwei (single digit shareholder) which had invested in our Vokal journey will be exiting fully," Radhakrishna said in an earlier investment. Koo has raised $4.1 million as part of its Series A funding. Infosys veteran Mohandas Pai's 3one4 Capital is the latest addition to the investors on board, according to the company, and <keyword id="144381" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Accel-Partners">Accel Partners</keyword>, <keyword id="1397792" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kalaari-Capital">Kalaari Capital</keyword>, <keyword id="592779" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Blume-Ventures">Blume Ventures</keyword> and Dream Incubator also participated in the round. "We have got more love than we expected. Our systems are facing more load than ever. Thank you for placing your trust in us. Our team is working on overdrive to fix it. We request your patience and support through this time. Let's do this together," Radhakrishna had said. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/india-issues-new-guidelines-for-passengers-arriving-from-the-uk-brazil-europe-and-middle-east-countries/articleshow/81083248.cms">India issues new guidelines for passengers arriving from the UK, Brazil, Europe and Middle-East countries</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/not-just-a-tiktok-clone-says-chingari-app-founder-with-their-latest-shop-within-videos-feature-which-he-claims-is-the-next-big-thing-in-social-commerce/articleshow/81084432.cms">‘Not just a TikTok clone,’ says Chingari founder with their latest shop within videos feature which he claims is the next big thing in social commerce</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/samsung-galaxy-f62-review-the-new-mid-range-killer/articleshow/81084382.cms">Samsung Galaxy F62 review – the new mid-range killer</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/cairn-energy-ceo-meets-indian-finance-secretary-as-shareholders-impatiently-wait-for-action-on-the-1-4-billion-tax-dispute/articleshow/81087952.cms">Cairn Energy CEO meets Indian finance secretary as shareholders impatiently wait for action on the $1.4 billion tax dispute</a>

As Twitter engages in a firefight with the Indian government, homegrown rival Koo crosses 4 million users within 10 months of launch

Homegrown micro-blogging platform <keyword id="3518161" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="koo" source="Orion">Koo</keyword> on Tuesday said that it has laid off 15 employees, or 5 per cent of its workforce, and not 40 as earlier reported in the media. In a fresh statement to IANS, the Twitter rival said that 15 positions "have been made redundant or removed due to performance issues". "This is completely aligned with the industry standards of hiring and retrenchment. At the same time, Koo continues to hire talent in its monetisation, product and engineering teams," a company spokesperson said. The additional hires, said Koo, will help it gear up for the next phase of growth and monetisation. Aprameya Radhakrishna, Co-founder and CEO, Koo, was recently in London for an industry event for Indian entrepreneurs. The company spokesperson said that she "did not meet any funders or high net worth individuals (HNIs) in London and did not engage in any fundraising activity". Koo has raised $44.1 million to date. The company said it is "well capitalised, is focused on growth and enhancing innovation, driving digital inclusion and attaining 100 million downloads". Launched in March 2020, Koo is currently available in 10 languages -- Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Assamese, Bengali and English. According to the platform, it has over 45 million downloads and is actively leveraged by 7,000 high-profile people from across the spectrum. Koo is backed by <keyword id="526777" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="tiger-global" source="Orion">Tiger Global</keyword> and early stage investors like Accel, <keyword id="1397792" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="kalaari-capital" source="Orion">Kalaari Capital</keyword>, Blume Ventures and Dream incubator. In February this year, Koo raised $10 million through Indian family offices. The investors included Capsier Venture Partner, <keyword id="13085219" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="ravi-modi-family-trust" source="Orion">Ravi Modi Family Trust</keyword>, <keyword id="2988161" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="ashneer-grover" source="Orion">Ashneer Grover</keyword>, FBC Venture Partners, <keyword id="14870685" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="adventz-finance" source="Orion">Adventz Finance</keyword> etc, according to regulatory filings. SEE ALSO : <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/explained-whats-the-ethereum-merge-and-how-it-can-change-eth-value/articleshow/94020891.cms">Explained: What’s the Ethereum Merge and how it can change Eth value</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/22-engineers-officers-found-guilty-in-lucknow-hotel-fire-probe/articleshow/94018692.cms">22 engineers, officers found guilty in Lucknow hotel fire probe</a>

Homegrown Twitter rival Koo says laid off 15 employees, not 40

<ul><li><keyword id="3518161" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="koo" source="Orion">Koo</keyword> has spent 65% of its total Facebook ad spends transactions in the last 90 days.</li><li>The company aims to close 2021 with 100 million users registered to the platform, Koo co-founder said.</li><li>Koo currently has over 14 million app downloads, a 10x increase since September last year.</li></ul>Social media app Koo started with a big bang, garnering interest from users, investors and in some cases even government officials. The company sprung up in March 2020 as Twitter’s Indian alternative and started gaining momentum in June last year, as relations between Twitter and the Indian government started straining. After 18 months, 14 million downloads and $34 million (₹255 crore) in fundraising, Koo is now splurging on Facebook ads to get more users on board and take on Twitter that has <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/242606/number-of-active-twitter-users-in-selected-countries/">22 million</a> users in India. The company has spent a little over ₹2.4 crore on Facebook ads in the last 90 days, according to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ads/library/?active_status=all&amp;ad_type=political_and_issue_ads&amp;country=IN&amp;view_all_page_id=101044114877636&amp;search_type=page&amp;media_type=all">Facebook Ad Library</a>. That’s ₹80 lakh a month and ₹2.6 lakh a day, making Koo the top spender on Facebook in the last three months. These ads were run across Facebook-owned platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and its audience network. Interestingly, this is 65% of the total marketing expense (₹3.7 crore) Koo has made on the Facebook app since its inception in March 2020. It seems to be working because the Koo app was downloaded over 3.3 million times between July 8 to October 5, as per App Annie report accessed by Business Insider. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none;" class="redcator-table-advance"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Timeline </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Ad spent </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">App Downloads </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">March 2020-October 5, 2021 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹3.78 crore </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">14.3 million </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Last 90 days (July 8-October 5, 2021) </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹2.4 crore </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">3.3 million </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Last 30 days (September 6 - October 5, 2021) </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹78 lakh </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">1 million </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Last 7 days (September 29 - October 5, 2021) </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹12.7 lakh </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">230,000 </td></tr></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody></table> The app was downloaded 3.5 million times between July 1 to October 5, which is 5 lakh lower than April to June quarter. Please note that not all these downloads were generated through ads, some of them maybe organic as well. <div type="image" title="Koo is spending ₹2.6 lakh a day on Facebook to beat Twitter" msid="86868782" hostid="261"></div> Koo was co-founded by Aprameya Radhakrishna and Mayank Bidawatka, who previously founded a Q&amp;A platform Vokal. The company wa founded to enable Indian users to converse freely in their local languages, which is not that widespread on Twitter. Koo currently has over 1.43 crore (or 14 million) downloads on its app, as per the App Annie analysis. This represents over 10 times increase from 17 lakh (1.7 million) downloads in September last year. The company, however, has set up higher targets for itself. “Our objective is to be extremely inclusive as a product and as a philosophy, so that every Indian is comfortable voicing their opinions. We want to get to 250 million users a month. We want to reach 100 million users by the end of the year, and I am as confident as an entrepreneur can be that we will reach there,”<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/advertising/ad-tech/article/i-am-confident-we-will-get-to-100-million-users-by-the-end-of-this-year-mayank-bidawatka-koo/articleshow/81210997.cms"> Bidawatka told</a> Business Insider earlier in February this year. As a part of its strategy, Koo is available in 10 local languages — Hindi, English, Assamese, Gujarati, Kannada, Tamil and Telugu, among others. It plans to add 15 more languages to its platform to attract more customers. The company is backed by the who's who of the tech world including Tiger Global, Mirae Asset Capital, Coinbase’s former chief technology officer (CTO) Balaji S. Srinivasan, Ashish Hemrajani of BookMyShow, Vivekananda Hallekere of Bounce and Zerodha’s Nikhil Kamath. Koo is currently available in India as well as Nigeria, which banned Twitter earlier this year. Some prominent Indian personalities using Koo app are Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/tata-sons-buy-air-india-for-2-39-billion-from-the-indian-government/articleshow/86867529.cms">Tata Sons buys ‘Maharaja’ for $2.39 billion from the Indian government</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/airtel-announces-cashback-of-6000-free-one-time-screen-replacement-on-purchase-of-new-devices/articleshow/86865821.cms">Airtel announces cashback of ₹6,000, free one-time screen replacement on purchase of new devices</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/tata-motors-titan-ongc-bandhan-bank-and-bosch-stand-out-this-week-with-over-10-rallies/slidelist/86866914.cms">Tata Motors, Titan, ONGC, Bandhan Bank and Bosch stand out this week with over 10% rallies</a>

Koo is spending ₹2.6 lakh a day on Facebook to beat Twitter

Homegrown microblogging platform <keyword id="3518161" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Koo" source="Orion">Koo</keyword> expects to raise its headcount to over 500 people in the next one year, as it looks to hire across engineering, product and community management teams. <keyword id="12077958" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Twitter-rival" source="Orion">Twitter rival</keyword> Koo, which has scripted phenomenal growth with a user base touching the 1 crore-mark recently, has 200 employees on its rolls, at present. "We are now 200 people, and we will reach at least 500 people in the next one year as we hire primarily in areas such as engineering, product and community management," Koo co-founder Aprameya Radhakrishna told PTI. Other areas of hiring include government relations, and marketing, brand marketing among others, but these will comprise smaller teams. "We would like to attract the best talent that can work for us, and take Indian technology to the globe," Radhakrishna said. Founded by Radhakrishna and Mayank Bidawatka, Koo was launched last year to allow users to express themselves and engage on the platform in Indian languages. It supports multiple languages including Hindi, Telugu and Bengali, among others. Koo's popularity in India peaked earlier this year amid the Indian government's spat with <keyword id="6354616" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="twitter" source="Orion">Twitter</keyword> and growing calls for expanding the ecosystem of homegrown digital platforms. Koo saw massive growth in its user base over the past few months, after Union ministers and government departments in India endorsed the homegrown microblogging platform. Its user base touched the 1 crore mark last month and the platform has ambitious targets to reach 10 crore users over the next one year. Radhakrishna had earlier said that despite the significant surge in user base, the platform "has not even scratched the surface" when it comes to the growth potential offered by the market, where less than two per cent of internet users use microblogging platforms to express themselves. India remains a critical market for internet companies like Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter with its large population base and burgeoning internet adoption. The country, which is the world's second-largest telecom market and the biggest consumer of data, enforced new IT intermediary rules earlier this year, aiming to bring greater accountability for platforms, in particular, the big tech companies, including Twitter and Facebook. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/outlook-for-manufacturing-sector-improves-in-second-quarter-high-cost-of-production-causes-worry-says-ficci-survey/articleshow/86137600.cms">Outlook for manufacturing sector improves in second quarter, high cost of production causes worry, says FICCI survey</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/tcl-wont-release-foldable-phone-in-2021-says-report/articleshow/86136633.cms">TCL won't release foldable phone in 2021, says report</a>

Twitter rival Koo to hire 500 people in next one year across engineering, product and community management teams

<ul><li><keyword id="3518161" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="koo">Koo</keyword> is a microblogging platform and is available in English, Hindi, Kannada, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Gujarati, Bengali and Malayalam.</li><li>The barely 10-month old app Koo has now crossed over 3 million downloads, registering a 10X growth since December, 2020.</li><li><keyword id="6354616" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Twitter">Twitter</keyword> users are jumping on to the Made in India app Koo, as they dismiss the Jack Dorsey-led global social media giant over its recent controversies with the Indian government.</li></ul>The one app that everyone’s talking about on Twitter today is its Indian alternative Koo. India’s Hindu right wing upped its ante against Twitter, with #BanTwitter, they promoted the homegrown alternative, Koo, which led to a windfall. The barely 10-month old app Koo has now crossed over 3 million downloads, registering a 10X growth since December, 2020. Enjoying their moment in the sun are founders Aprameya Radhakrishna and Mayank Bidawatka, co-founders of Koo, which is a microblogging platform and is available in English, Hindi, Kannada, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Gujarati, Bengali and Malayalam. <div type="image" title="koo" msid="80788103" hostid="261"></div> It’s hockey stick for both Twitter and Koo The recent standoff between Twitter and the Indian government, which wanted the social media giant to ban <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/india/twitter-accounts-block-govt-notice-khalistan-sympathiser-pakistan-7179728/">certain handles</a>, has become a bane for Jack Dorsey and a boon for Koo. Twitter declined the Indian government’s request to ban certain handles of journalists, activists as doing so “"would violate their fundamental right to free expression under Indian law". Soon after, country’s top ministers like Piyush Goyal to bollywood actors like Anupam Kher and Kangana Ranaut, hundreds of verified profiles on Twitter are jumping on to the Made in India app Koo. “Last few days we have seen a hockey stick growth, we have got more users than we expected. It was unplanned, sudden and it’s very overwhelming but we are happy that people are willing to try out this Indian product,” said Bidawatka in an interview to Business Insider in the middle of what he describes a crazy day. <div type="twitter" handle="PiyushGoyal" handlename="Piyush Goyal" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1242114357682515971/x6zWYqzZ_normal.jpg" favoritecount="13089" retweetcount="3572" status="I am now on Koo. Connect with me on this Indian micro-blogging platform for real-time, exciting and exclusive upd… https://t.co/L09sLRtzDM" createdat="1612859791000" id="1359058583934013442"></div> <div type="twitter" handle="KanganaTeam" handlename="Kangana Ranaut" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1328363769848709120/RYB3_4Fd_normal.jpg" favoritecount="6829" retweetcount="1526" status="Your time is up @Twitter time to shift to #kooapp will inform everyone soon about my account details there. Absolu… https://t.co/lJNwf0zWh8" createdat="1612953243000" id="1359450551126269952"></div> And the <keyword id="10739078" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Koo-founders">Koo founders</keyword>, who admire Twitter’s product, found their app as one of the top trends on Twitter. “It's unfortunate that certain events have unfolded and you know, that things are being questioned. The fact that we can trend on that platform shows how democratic that platform is,” said Bidawatka. Both Bidawatka and Radhakrishna ⁠— are serial entrepreneurs, the latter having previously founded TaxiForSure and sold it to the unicorn Ola⁠— were always working on an Indian alternative to Twitter. But they didn’t think the opportunity would emerge out of a controversy. <div type="image" title="Koo2" msid="80788255" hostid="261"></div> A few months ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself had mentioned Koo in his monthly address to the people. That brought the first big wave of users to the platform. Listen to this podcast with the founders of Koo, recorded after they won the Atmanirbhar app challenge by the Indian government in August, 2020. <div type="javascript" title="Custom" contenttype="Video"><cdata><![CDATA[]]></cdata></div> While they admired Twitter for the product that it was, the founders saw an opportunity. “Indians that don't speak in English were not well represented there, for example, there were very few Kannada, Tamil, tweets. Nothing close to the potential of our internet using population. We wanted to build an immersive experience on the product,” he said. The two men also run Vokal, a vernacular question and answer knowledge sharing app, they understood the languages space and found experts on their platform still missing a place to express their thoughts. “We know the vernacular story and power of Indian languages. The microblogging format is very all encompassing, it's easy to create and consume,” said Bidawatka. And that’s how Koo was formed. Koo also raised $4.1 million as part of its Series A funding recently from 3one4 Capital, Accel Partners, Kalaari Capital, Blume Ventures and Dream Incubator. While the valuation of the company, remains undisclosed, Bidawatka said they found the right set of investors who believe in their product, even if it's just 10-month old. And as users keep pouring into Koo, the 40-member team is on overdrive to keep things running. Even while there are teething issues, like every small company has. “We are dealing with the scale that has been thrown at us,” he said. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/what-happens-if-the-government-bans-cryptocurrencies-should-i-sell-bitcoin-checkout-experts-views/articleshow/80782941.cms">“Should I sell my cryptocurrencies?” and other questions answered on India’s proposed Crypto Ban bill</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/india-is-considering-four-day-work-weeks-but-with-longer-hours/articleshow/80763247.cms">India is considering four-day work weeks but with longer shifts</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/what-is-facial-recognition-technology-and-how-india-is-using-it-to-track-down-protestors-and-individuals/articleshow/80782606.cms">India is ramping up the use of facial recognition to track down individuals without any laws to keep track of how this technology is being used</a>

Twitter’s Indian rival Koo has crossed 3 million downloads as ministers and actors got down to promoting it⁠— the founders are ecstatic

<ul><li>Indian government has banned over 250 <keyword id="6022999" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="chinese-apps">Chinese apps</keyword> over the last year, due to the geopolitical crisis with the neighbouring country.</li><li>The ban on Chinese apps impacted the short video segment the most, as it found itself in a void with the absence of top two players in the segment.</li><li>While many alternatives have emerged to give a tough competition to <keyword id="6762469" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="TikTok">TikTok</keyword>, any real competition to PUBG still does not exist.</li></ul>You can now find Vassundhara Pandita, a former TikTok creator, entertaining about 4.5 million users on <keyword id="3658" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="India">India</keyword>’s Sharechat-owned Moj app. Just like her, thousands of Indian creators have set their camps on different short video apps that came into existence in the past one year, after the government of India decided to ban <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/checkout-the-name-of-the-chinese-banned-apps-in-india/articleshow/76696132.cms">59 Chinese apps</a> on this day (June 29). The banned apps not only included TikTok, the biggest short video platform in the world with a user base of 200+ million in India alone, but its alternatives Likee and Vigo as well. Vigo was owned by TikTok’s Chinese parent ByteDance that was supposed to be <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/advertising/ad-tech/news/bytedance-shuts-down-vigo-video-in-india-to-focus-on-other-businesses/articleshow/76382018.cms">shut by October 2020</a> to direct users towards TikTok, but all these efforts were futile. This is how TikTok creators’ hunt began to find the perfect Indian alternative that would help them continue entertaining millions of users and keep the flow of income running. But the first priority on the list was to redirect their followers to other social media platforms, most popularly <keyword id="819905" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Instagram">Instagram</keyword>. “I had to make short videos on my TikTok and YouTube [channels] to direct my followers to my Instagram handle,” says Vassundhara, who had more than five million followers on TikTok and goes by the username ‘@__vassundhara__’ on Instagram. As expected, Vassundhara and many other creators did lose their followers in this reshuffle, but thankfully finding the next stage turned out to be a little simpler. <h2 style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:18pt;margin-bottom:6pt;">Indian digital businesses fill up TikTok void</h2> Well established digital businesses were already on to finding their way to dominate the Indian short video platform, which was suddenly left with a void with the exit of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/slideshows/top-ten-most-downloaded-apps-in-india/slidelist/72977234.cms">top two players </a>-- TikTok and Likee From Sharechat to Dailyhunt, MXPlayer, Gaana, Zee5, you name it and they were already set to launch their Made-In-India offering. A few months later, even YouTube and Instagram decided to grab on to this opportunity and launch their respective hypershots entertainment offering in India. So, the competition was on and it was a pretty hot one. But Indian platforms did fairly well for themselves in this highly competitive market. Just like TikTok, many of these Indian alternatives have set a monetisation practice in place for these creators. Each creator on these platforms, with a specific number of followers and reach, is paid a certain undisclosed amount. Besides this, they are also allowed to take any paid promotional partnerships in their personal capacity without having to share their income with the platforms. There are only three shortcomings to the Indian alternatives at the moment. First, the limited market compared to TikTok that had its presence across the globe. Second, the limited market is further divided among the rival brands. Third, the not-so-great technological innovation and user-experience. While Instagram may have these problems figured out by integrating Reels into their image and video app. However, it is not a great offering in terms of the monetisation aspect. It was much easier for a content to blow up on TikTok, given its artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms. It also offered more in-depth insights into the audience. On the other hand, it is much more difficult to blow up content on Instagram. “Instagram has its plus points, but it's not offering much payout to influencers at the moment… Also Instagram, I think, is focusing on a more lavish life and a glamorous one with money. Unlike TikTok, we see only one or two videos from the rural parts of India on Instagram. Moj and other Indian apps, and even TikTok for instance, push such contents as well,” Vassundhara added. However, the Indian alternatives have replaced TikTok in the eyes of content creators at least. “If TikTok comes back to India, creators will still take some time to move to the platform. As you know, a lot of controversies have happened around TikTok in India like the <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/entertainment-others/carryminati-amir-siddiqui-youtube-vs-tiktok-6411239/">YouTube roast </a>or questions over its Chinese origin. People will take some time to understand this. By the time, creators will start going back to Moj or any other platform that may establish dominance,” Vassundhara said, adding the platform offers fair income to the creators from their end. Notably, TikTok may to make a comeback to the Indian market soon, as it has <a href="https://theprint.in/tech/tiktok-definitely-hopeful-india-ban-will-be-lifted-in-talks-with-govt-to-resume-operations/683916/">reportedly</a> started discussions with the government once again. <h2 style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:18pt;margin-bottom:6pt;">India Yet To Find PUBG’s Alternative</h2>The Indian government’s attack on Chinese apps took down close to over 250 apps in the last one year. This also includes South Korean online multiplayer battle royale game PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG). PUBG had more than 175 million installations from India alone which accounted for 24% of the total installations worldwide. The ban on the online multiplayer battle royale game came due to its partnership with China-based Tencent Games. Tencent was PUBG Mobile’s licensed publisher in India. The duo ended their partnership in September 2020, and PUBG is now set to make a<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/battlegrounds-mobile-india-is-now-official-check-out-launch-date-downloads-and-more/articleshow/82427206.cms"> comeback</a> in India in a new avatar ‘BattleGrounds Mobile India’. The launch of BattleGrounds Mobile India may be subject to scrutiny as well, after a <a href="https://in.ign.com/battlegrounds-mobile-india/161110/news/battlegrounds-mobile-india-china-server-data-sharing-meity-government-meenakashi-lekhi">IGN India</a> report highlighted that the app was sending user data to China. Despite the spike in India’s e-sports segment over the last one year due to PUBG ban and Covid-19, there haven't been any direct replacements to PUBG Mobile India. Many users simply switched to the web version of the app, which was not banned. For PUBG Mobile India, Bengaluru-based nCore Games did come up with the one alternative -- Fearless And United Guards (FAUG) in September 2020. The company launched the beta version of the app earlier this week (June 27), but is yet to <a href="https://in.ign.com/fau-g-android/161446/feature/faug-team-deathmatch-map-gameplay-story-weapons-future-ncore-games">impress the Indian audience</a>. <h2 style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:18pt;margin-bottom:6pt;">What other segments were disrupted due to the ban of Chinese apps?</h2> The ban on Chinese apps also promoted the Made-In-India sentiment that pushed users towards many Indian alternatives. For instance <keyword id="3518161" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="koo">Koo</keyword> and Tooter were the first to arrive as the alternatives to US-based microblogging website Twitter. While Tooter was lost in the crowd, Koo has managed to set itself to a better start, at least. The one-year-old app already has about a third (<a href="https://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/will-double-headcount-lot-of-headroom-for-growing-user-base-koo-121050900174_1.html#:~:text=Koo%20has%20about%2060%20lakh,base%20and%20burgeoning%20Internet%20adoption.">6 million</a>) of Twitter's 17 million users in India. It has also raised about<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/indias-micro-blogging-app-koo-raises-30-million-by-tiger-global/articleshow/82965589.cms"> $34 million</a> to date from marquee investors like Tiger Global Management, Accel, Kalaari Capital, and more. The platform is set to accelerate even further amidst Indian government’s ongoing tussle with Twitter. It has also made an<a href="https://qz.com/africa/2024107/nigerian-government-moves-to-indian-app-koo-after-twitter-ban/"> entry</a> into Nigeria after the Nigerian government banned Twitter last week. Even Indian ministers have<a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/it-minister-ravi-shankar-prasad-praises-koo-indias-alternative-to-twitter-950088.html"> praised</a> the app on many occasions. China-based document scanning and file storage app CamScanner, which found its biggest market in India with 100 million users, was also banned on June 29, last year. Since then, the app has been shadowed by another new popular option, Gurugram-based alternative Kaagaz Scanner. Launched in March 2020, the platform has over 5 million downloads and 1.7 million plus monthly active users. The platform has raised $575,000 last year from former <keyword id="6354512" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Infosys">Infosys</keyword> vice-chairman Kris Gopalakrishnan’s Axilor Ventures, Better Capital and Pravega Ventures. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/policy/news/china-will-not-buy-iron-copper-aluminum-zinc-and-some-other-commodities-from-foreign-countries/articleshow/83565216.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">China has decided to take global commodity bulls by their horns ⁠— to protect the profit margins of its small businesses</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/sports/news/soccers-most-expensive-young-player-missed-a-decisive-penalty-that-saw-reigning-world-champion-france-crash-out-of-euro-2020/articleshow/83940298.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Soccer's most expensive young player missed a decisive penalty that saw reigning world champion France crash out of Euro 2020</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/coinbase-ceo-brian-armstrong-says-the-goal-is-for-the-crypto-exchange-to-list-every-asset-that-is-legally-possible/articleshow/83937379.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong says the goal is for the crypto exchange to list every asset that is legally possible</a>

One year of Chinese apps ban — Indian alternatives take over TikTok

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="6354616" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Twitter">Twitter</keyword> has been in a standoff in <keyword id="3658" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="India">India</keyword> over censoring accounts amid huge anti-government protests.</li><li><keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword>'s Government has backed <keyword id="3518161" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="koo">Koo</keyword>, an app so similar to Twitter it even has a bird logo.</li><li>The "free expression" app, which has been accused of hosting hate speech, doesn't moderate content.</li></ul><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/india-government-attack-us-celebrities-backing-farmer-protests-burn-effigies-2021-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">India's farmers' protests</a> put Twitter in a censorship standoff with the Indian Government, which reacted by backing "Koo", the app mimics tweets and says it has no plans to moderate its content.Koo is just 10 months old. But <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-twitters-india-standoff-dragged-in-journalists-and-activists-2021-2">Twitter's refusal to block accounts supporting the protests outside Delhi </a>- where tens of thousands farmers have come to global attention in their bitter, at times violent, demonstrations against new agriculture laws - has been its making.Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ministers were among those encouraging people in the world's second-fastest growing internet economy to switch to Koo. It crossed more than 4.1 million downloads in two weeks in February and has secured $4.1 million in funding.Celebrities, politicians, and right-wing publications are now "Kooing". Even the yellow bird logo and the name - Koo is a bird's sound in Hindi - emphasize its desire to challenge Twitter. Some even cheekily used Tweets to announce their new Koo profiles."I am now on Koo," says <a href="https://twitter.com/PiyushGoyal/status/1359058583934013442">the pinned tweet</a> of Piyush Goyal, India's minister of railways, commerce, and industry who has more than 9.5 million followers on Twitter. "Connect with me on this Indian micro-blogging platform for real-time, exciting, and exclusive updates."According to mobile analytics firm Sensor Tower, Koo's downloads soared by 159.9% on February 9, the day Goyal endorsed it.This was on top of a 186.8% jump in downloads the previous day, triggered when Twitter published <a href="https://help.twitter.com/en/rules-and-policies/tweet-withheld-by-country">a defiant response</a> to the government.<div type="image" title="Koo account" height="1200" width="1696" msid="81278576" hostid="261"></div>"We strongly believe that the open and free exchange of information has a positive global impact," Twitter wrote, "and that the Tweets must continue to flow." The surge put Koo at the top of the app charts. Koo was founded in the southern city of Bangalore by Aprameya Radhakrishna, who sold his cab-hailing startup for $200 million to Uber's biggest rival in India, and Mayank Bidawatka, a serial entrepreneur.At first glance, the similarities with Twitter are remarkable. Koo lets you follow people, read updates in a reverse-chronological feed, add and track hashtags, post a "Koo" in up to 350 characters, attach media, and respond to and like other people's Koos.But Koo has features, unavailable on Twitter, that are tailored to the Indian market. it is compatible with a handful of Indian languages and lets people filter out content by their chosen language, which helps in a country where only 10% of the population speaks English.<div type="image" title="Koo as it appears in the Google Play Store" height="1120" width="1434" msid="81278578" hostid="261"></div>It also has a dedicated button for forwarding "Koos" to WhatsApp, India's most popular messaging app.But arguably what truly sets this social network apart is its lack of content moderation. Its homepage invites people to "join India's best minds that speak their mind".Its founders say they won't govern their network the way the likes of Twitter and Facebook currently struggle to do. Instead, when Koo discovers any post that can be deemed unlawful, it will hand it over to the government for action."We don't govern. Why should we govern? It's a free-expression platform," <a href="https://restofworld.org/2021/how-koo-became-a-right-wing-darling-in-india/">Radhakrishna recently said</a>, "We're not the ones to take action. There's an elected government. Irrespective of who runs the government in the future ... If it's going to lead to violence, we'll cooperate with the government."The Indian government meanwhile has pulled out all the stops to make Twitter fall in line, with Koo effectively becoming a weapon in the fight. Twitter has since agreed to comply partially with India's banning order, suspending more than 500 accounts. Challenging Twitter is no easy feat - it has 340 million users worldwide. In late November, another Twitter-esque app called Tooter got a lot of attention. Its brash "About" page likened Twitter's dominance in India to the British Empire in the days before independence. But the absence of diverse voices meant its early adopters soon left.<div type="image" title="Koo homepage" height="1124" width="1800" msid="81278580" hostid="261"></div>Modi's government's endorsement of Koo has made it particularly inviting to India's right-wing and supporters of the governing party.Nikhil Pahwa, a digital rights activist and founder of tech policy publication MediaNama, posted on Koo about the internet shutdowns authorities imposed to disrupt the protests and was soon flooded with "hateful comments and responses," he told Insider. Pahwa said he found Koo's approach to moderating "extremely problematic." "To allow any platform that just gives a wholesale licence to the government to censor our speech is not a platform worth being on," he said. This has led many to draw parallels between Koo and <keyword id="9465142" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="parler">Parler</keyword>, a US-based "free-speech social network" that grew after Twitter began censoring and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-twitter-ban-wont-be-lifted-if-runs-president-again-2021-2">eventually banned former President Donald Trump</a>.Radhakrishna has dismissed the comparison, telling tech blog Rest Of World that Parler was a "pro-Trump thing", adding, "We are existing today irrespective of whether Twitter gets into trouble or not, irrespective of one ideology being there or not. We exist because we want to give a voice to every Indian."But while <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/parler-website-is-back-online-2021-1">Parler has struggled</a>, Koo might thrive under India's current administration. Modi has made the "Make in India" campaign his party's centerpiece and has rolled out policies that promote domestic manufacturing and Indian startups.The government is reportedly developing a range of homegrown apps aimed at eventually replacing Western services like WhatsApp, Zoom, and of course, Twitter.China has already gone down this road with apps such as TikTok and WeChat. Will India follow? "I know that the Indian government has China envy," Pahwa said. "They want to exercise the kind of control that the Chinese government does over speech and over technology in its country. "But I sure hope India doesn't become like that."Koo did not respond to a request for comment from Insider.

Koo, the 'free expression' social media app, is the Indian government's latest weapon in its standoff with Twitter

<ul><li>Following incidents of showdown against <keyword id="3225532" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Social-media-companies">social media companies</keyword>, the Indian government could be gearing up to bring amendments in its laws.</li><li>These proposed amendments to <keyword id="6363148" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="information-technology">Information Technology</keyword> (<keyword id="7206149" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Intermediary-Guidelines">Intermediary Guidelines</keyword>) Rules, 2011 could reportedly obligate social media companies to remove ‘unlawful’ content within 36 hours of an order of a court or the government.</li><li>The government could also seek these companies to set up automated tools to remove ‘unlawful’ content.</li></ul>India is reportedly gearing up to announce new policies to require <keyword id="6354616" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Twitter">Twitter</keyword>, <keyword id="6354576" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="facebook">Facebook</keyword> and other social media companies to remove ‘unlawful’ content within 36 hours of orders issued by a court or the government. According to a report by <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/social-media-companies-may-get-just-36-hours-to-junk-unlawful-posts/articleshow/81100874.cms">The Times of India</a>, the proposed amendments bring down the time limit to remove content from 72 hours to 36 hours. This is aimed at being more responsive when it comes to requests made by users. The amendments are being made to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines) Rules, 2011. A summary of the existing guidelines can be read on <a href="https://www.prsindia.org/billtrack/draft-information-technology-intermediaries-guidelines-amendment-rules-2018">PRS Legislative Research</a>. “36 hours is adequate time and in line with global standards to initiate a takedown on the part of intermediaries,” Simranjeet Singh, Partner, Athena Legal, told Business Insider. “It has consistently been argued by the intermediaries that they can immediately take down content post receiving actual knowledge of any illegal acts being perpetrated on their platforms,” he further added. “<keyword id="3518161" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="koo">Koo</keyword> will respect the laws of the land. We understand the importance of freedom of speech and at the same time we also understand the need to operate within the legal boundaries of our country of operation. Policies around social media are welcome because they make some of the nebulous things around what's acceptable and what's not, legally known and enforced. This reduces the vagueness around clear actions that need to be taken by platforms,” said Mayank Bidawatka, Co founder, Koo, the new <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/as-twitter-engages-in-a-firefight-with-the-indian-government-homegrown-rival-koo-crosses-4-million-users-within-10-months-of-launch/articleshow/81090246.cms">upcoming Indian alternative to Twitter</a>. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Who are these intermediaries?" comment="subhead" text="Who are these intermediaries?">Who are these intermediaries?</cmsannotation> Intermediaries here refers to social media companies like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp among others. The report states that the government may require companies with over 50 lakh users to have an office in India and appoint an officer to coordinate with the law enforcement agencies when required. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="What is ‘unlawful’ content?" comment="subhead" text="What is ‘unlawful’ content?">What is ‘unlawful’ content?</cmsannotation> Unlawful content, as defined under Rule 3(2) of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines) Rules, 2011, includes content that is harmful, harassing, blasphemous, defamatory, obscene, infringes on copyright or patent, or violates any law for the time being in force. A detailed reading can be obtained <a href="https://www.meity.gov.in/writereaddata/files/GSR314E_10511%281%29_0.pdf">here</a>. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Obligating intermediaries to remove unlawful content" comment="subhead" text="Obligating intermediaries to remove unlawful content">Obligating intermediaries to remove unlawful content</cmsannotation> According to the report, the government may push social media companies to identify the source of unlawful content to allow the law enforcement agencies to take action against them. The proposed amendments in intermediary guidelines come at a time when Twitter has been caught in the middle of a battle between activists and protestors, and the Indian government. It is <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/international/news/twitter-faces-a-political-disaster-in-india-where-its-taking-heat-from-both-the-government-and-protesters-over-the-suspension-of-accounts/articleshow/80790166.cms">facing heat from both protestors as well as the government</a> due to how it has dealt with content on its platform around topics related to the farmer protests. The proposed guidelines will obligate social media companies to create automated tools for “proactively identifying and removing or disabling public access to such information or content”, the report added. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Setting up a grievance redressal portal to address user complaints" comment="subhead" text="Setting up a grievance redressal portal to address user complaints">Setting up a grievance redressal portal to address user complaints</cmsannotation> According to another report by <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/social-media-moderation-government-plans-new-platform-to-flag-online-posts-101613680077473.html">Hindustan Times</a> quoting anonymous sources, the government could set up a dedicated grievance redressal portal. This would allow social media users to lodge their complaints, which would then have to be addressed by the social media companies. This could be along the lines of <a href="https://pgportal.gov.in/">PG Portal</a>, a dedicated grievance redressal mechanism that covers services provided by the government or public sector undertakings like the India Post, BSNL, and others. According to <a href="https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1694783">data</a> released by the Ministry of Home Affairs, over 93,000 cases of cybercrime were registered from 2017 to 2019. The government already has a portal for reporting cybercrime and fraud at cybercrime.gov.in. However, a revamp that would make it easier for victims to get these complaints addressed could prove to be helpful. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/supreme-court-tells-indian-government-and-twitter-to-find-a-way-to-curb-hate-speech-online-and-shut-down-fake-accounts/articleshow/80876338.cms">Supreme Court tells Indian government and Twitter to find a way to curb hate speech online and shut down fake accounts</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/international/news/twitter-faces-a-political-disaster-in-india-where-its-taking-heat-from-both-the-government-and-protesters-over-the-suspension-of-accounts/articleshow/80790166.cms">Twitter faces a political disaster in India, where it's taking heat from both the government and protesters over the suspension of accounts</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/twitter-suspends-90-95-of-accounts-listed-by-indian-government/articleshow/80892372.cms">Twitter suspends 90-95% of accounts listed by Indian government</a>

You Searched For "like platform koo" and got 10 results

Curtains down for Koo; founders say little yellow bird bids final goodbye

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As Twitter engages in a firefight with the Indian government, homegrown rival Koo crosses 4 million users within 10 months of launch

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Twitter’s Indian rival Koo has crossed 3 million downloads as ministers and actors got down to promoting it⁠— the founders are ecstatic

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One year of Chinese apps ban — Indian alternatives take over TikTok

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Koo, the 'free expression' social media app, is the Indian government's latest weapon in its standoff with Twitter

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