Koo launched in March 2020, founded by Aprameya Radhakrishna and Mayank Bidawatka. It was a microblogging platform built for India — multilingual from day one, supporting Kannada, Hindi, Telugu, and other regional languages.

The app got its big break in February 2021 when the Indian government clashed with Twitter over content moderation. Government officials, ministers, and nationalist voices migrated to Koo overnight. Downloads skyrocketed to millions. It felt like India was about to build its own social media ecosystem.

Koo raised over $60 million from investors including Tiger Global, Accel, and Kalaari Capital. At its peak, the platform claimed 50 million downloads. But downloads didn't translate to daily active users. Engagement was thin, content quality was low, and the novelty wore off once the anti-Twitter sentiment cooled down.

The founders tried everything — expansion to Nigeria and Brazil, creator programs, AI-powered translations. Nothing stuck. By late 2023, funding dried up. Multiple acquisition talks, including with Dailyhunt, fell through. In July 2024, Koo officially shut down, and its assets were put up for sale.