Microblogging platform Koo eyes going global after cracking India market

Firm will co-exist with Twitter rather than be a competitor, says CEO Radhakrishna

Homegrown microblogging platform Koo, which shot to fame after global tech giant Twitter’s face-off with the government in February, has reached 5.5 million downloads, and is now eyeing 100 million users in the next 18 months.
 
According to the founders of the firm, once the 100-million milestone is achieved, they will start monetising the platform and will take the app to other markets.
 
“We are not focused on monetising right now and will grow the user base to a certain extent, after which we will focus on monetising through advertising, branding, and virtual gifting,” said Aprameya Radhakrishna, CEO and co-founder, Koo and Vokal.
 
Radhakrishna wants to take the app to countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, and the  Philippines   after cracking the India market.
 
Often described as India’s alternative to Twitter, Radhakrishna believes that Koo will co-exist with Twitter, rather than being a competitor.
 
Koo’s aim is to go deeper into the Indian market with its focus on Indian languages.
 
The app is currently available in eight Indian languages including Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, and Marathi, and will be rolling out in over a dozen others through the next one year. 

 
“I think Twitter will connect with the English-speaking audience across countries. These are two different markets, so both platforms can coexist,” said Radhakrishna.
 
Koo is also in talks with multiple investors to raise more funds as the company scales.
 
There have been reports in the media that Koo’s founders have been in talks with private equity player Tiger Global to raise around $30 million.
 
When asked, Radhakrishna said, “We are in talks with multiple people for our next round of funding.”
 
In March this year, startup A-listers such as BookMyShow Founder Ashish Hemrajani, Udaan Co-Founder Sujeet Kumar, Flipkart CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy, and Zerodha Founder Nikhil Kamat bought Shunwei Capital’s stake in the company, and gave an exit to the sole Chinese investor from Bombinate Technologies, the parent company of Koo.
 
One of the reasons behind giving Shunwei Capital an exit was also driven by the fact that Koo founders wanted to reassure users that the platform is truly an atmanirbhar app made in India, according to Radhakrishna.
 
However, the company will be open to Chinese investments in the future if it is completely acceptable under the law of the land, he added.
 
The company has raised $4.1 million in February this year from new investor 3one4 Capital and existing investors Accel Partners, Kalaari Capital, Blume Ventures, and Dream Incubator.