Indian Microblogging Platform Koo to Shut Down its Operations
The Indian microblogging platform Koo, which was introduced in 2020 as a rival to Twitter (now known as X), has declared its closure after making vain attempts to find a buyer. The business, which was founded four years ago by Aprameya Radhakrisna and Mayank Bidawatka, will close after acquisition negotiations with “multiple large internet companies, conglomerates and media houses” broke down. Koo was one of several businesses that made an effort to develop local language-serving substitutes for US-based Internet services in India. The news was announced by the co-founders in a thorough LinkedIn post that described the difficulties and development of the platform.
![](https://adtechtoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Koo.png)
Image credit- Mayank Bidawatka’s LinkedIn
Koo’s beginning
Beginning operations in March 2020, Koo quickly rose to prominence during the 2021 Twitter takedown request related to farmer protests, which caused a standoff between the Indian government and the platform. The founders noted in the post that they observed a significant linguistic divide between the languages spoken around the world and the English dominance of the majority of social media platforms, particularly Twitter in India. Politicians and well-known celebrities jumped at the chance to join the platform. The website claimed to have over 9,000 VIPs, including some of the most well-known figures in a variety of industries.
Koo was founded with the goal of bridging the gap between the languages used around the world and the social media sites like X in India that are predominately English-speaking. Given that 80 percent of people on the planet speak languages other than English, Koo sought to promote local language connections and democratize expression.
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Koo’s performance over the years
With a 10% like ratio—much higher than Twitter’s—the platform made a big impression and became a more appealing place for creators. Approximately 2.1 million active users per day and roughly 10 million active users per month, including over 9000 VIPs from a variety of fields, were boasted by Koo at its height. The company’s growth plans were hampered by a protracted funding winter, but it was on the verge of overtaking Twitter in India in 2022.
But Koo first faced difficulties in September 2022 when it let go of about 40 workers, and then in April 2023 it reduced its workforce by thirty percent. Its monthly active users (MAUs) fell to roughly 3.1 million in the same month as January 2023, when they were approximately 4.1 million. Koo had discussed a possible buyout with startups like DailyHunt and Sharechat in recent months, but those discussions eventually fell through.
Despite looking into joint ventures with bigger media outlets, conglomerates, and internet companies, Radhakrishna clarified that the discussions had not produced a positive outcome. “Most of them didn’t want to deal with user-generated content and the wild nature of a social media company. A couple of them changed priority almost close to signing,” Aprameya noted. The difficult decision to end Koo’s service was made all the more difficult by the high cost of maintaining a social media app.
Why is Koo shutting down?
The difficulties in developing a social media business were brought to light by Radhakrishna, who noted that substantial scale is necessary before revenue is taken into account. To achieve its goal, Koo required patient, long-term, and aggressive funding for five to six years. But in the end, these plans were derailed by funding winter and market conditions.
The co-founders mentioned their failed attempts to form partnerships with large media outlets, conglomerates, and internet businesses. The founders stated that their difficult decision was influenced by the high costs of maintaining social media services, even though they would have preferred to keep the business open.
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The post, attributed to both the Co-founders Radhakrishna and Mayank Bidawatka, read, “We explored partnerships with multiple larger internet companies, conglomerates and media houses but these talks didn’t yield the outcome we wanted. Most of them didn’t want to deal with user-generated content and the wild nature of a social media company. A couple of them changed priority almost close to signing. While we would’ve liked to keep the app running, the cost of technology services to keep a social media app running is high and we’ve had to take this tough decision.”
Microblogging platform Koo to cease operations
Although Koo is closing its doors, Radhakrishna suggested that someone with a vision for India’s place in social media might be able to make use of the platform’s resources. The group is thinking about releasing the technology as a digital public good so that people all over the world can have social conversations in their native tongues.
More than $60 million has been raised by Koo from various investors, such as Blume, 3One4 Capital, Tiger Global, Accel, and Mirae Asset. The co-founders noted the acquisition talks’ failure and emphasized, “A couple of them changed priorities almost close to signing. While we would’ve liked to keep the app running, the cost of technology services to keep a social media app running is high, and we’ve had to take this tough decision.”
Finally, Radhakrishna highlighted the need for patient, long-term funding to develop Indian products that can compete globally and made hints about upcoming business endeavors. “As for us, we are entrepreneurs at heart, and you will see us back in the arena one way or another,” he said, thanking the small yellow bird that stood in for Koo and saying goodbye.
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MullenLowe Group consolidates Mullen Lintas and Lowe Lintas operations in New Delhi
The MullenLowe Group has combined the operations of its two companies, Mullen Lintas and Lowe Lintas, in New Delhi to consolidate business in the northern Indian market. The action was taken after the business decided to give operational efficiency top priority.
MullenLowe Group combines business in northern markets
The Mullen Lintas entity won’t alter as a result of the development. But its Delhi NCR office is no longer open. Its operations have been combined with Lowe Lintas’s Delhi NCR office, and Naveen Gaur, group COO, of growth and innovation, MullenLowe, will lead the combined operation. Since January 2024, Gaur has been supervising the combined operations. Among the companies on the agency’s roster of clients in Delhi are Havells, Vadilal, and Dulux.
MullenLowe US’ new global identity
The business recently revealed “State of States,” a joint venture with Quantum Consumer Solutions. Its goals were to break down thirty distinct cultures and offer micro-insights into India’s varied market in order to gain a deeper understanding of domains and develop future-oriented brands. MullenLowe US developed an evolved octopus as part of a new global identity and repositioned MullenLowe in 2023 to bring together 57 markets worldwide. “A kindred spirit that visually depicts how brands need to grow today” was what it stood for.
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Paytm Insider Elevates Varun Khare to Chief Operating Officer (COO)
Paytm Insider, one of India’s leading entertainment experience platforms, has promoted Varun Khare to Chief Operating Officer (COO). Varun will oversee the company’s operational strategies in his new position, promoting innovation and growth in every area of the company.
Paytm strengthens its leadership with Varun Khare’s elevation to COO
Varun, the organization’s business head for four years, demonstrated exceptional leadership, strategic vision, and a thorough understanding of the changing needs of customers and partners. During the last two years, Paytm Insider has experienced a growth in GMV of over 100% annually while seeing a quadrupling of revenue under his leadership. By working with artists, promoters, and organizers to improve live event experiences, Varun was crucial in helping the brand make major inroads into Tier 2 and 3 markets. He did this by having a clear understanding of the brand’s vision and the necessity of building the event’s infrastructure in India.
Varun was employed by Fountainhead MKTG and then Oranjuice Entertainment prior to joining Paytm Insider. Having worked in the live events and entertainment sector for 17 years, he has a strong background and specializes in carefully creating and implementing intellectual properties (IPs).
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Here’s what they said
Varun Khare, Chief Operating Officer, Paytm Insider said,
“When I moved to Paytm Insider, the intention was to scale up and work with a brand whose value system and culture resonated with mine. Working with a team of ~150 exceptionally talented individuals and earning their respect has been one of the most gratifying and significant achievements of my career. We have successfully expanded to over 170 cities having reached a diverse customer base across genres making my journey both challenging and rewarding.”
He further added,
“I am grateful to all the passionate people who have been a part of my journey. I am looking forward to this new phase. We’ve only just gotten started and have put ourselves in a great position to make live entertainment the preferred choice of entertainment across the country.”
Shreyas Srinivasan, Founder & CEO, Paytm Insider said,
“Paytm Insider was founded with the vision of making events a preferred choice for entertainment in India. Over the last 5 years we have built a full-fledged platform which supports organisers with a range of services which spans Ticketing, Sponsorship, Artist Booking, Marketing and more. Varun has been instrumental in this build out, his vast experience across all aspects of organising an event has allowed us to build a platform which will champion events and organisers across this country. I am super confident that this team has the right mix to make Insider the dominant events platform in India.”
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HiveMinds Names Pradeep Saluja as its Chief Operating Officer
Pradeep Saluja has been appointed Chief Operating Officer of HiveMinds, a digital marketing company owned by the Madison Group. Pradeep is an accomplished professional with more than 20 years of expertise in operations management, business strategy, and consulting in a variety of industries. In his role as COO, he will be in charge of the organization’s overall operations as well as P&L and business growth.
Pradeep Saluja appointed as HiveMind’s chief operating officer
Pradeep has held senior positions in a number of leading firms, including one of the founding members of Encore Capital Group’s India business and leading firms where he has delivered sustainable growth for clients around the world. He was a Vice President at Sprinklr, where he effectively oversaw customer success for important accounts worldwide, before joining HiveMinds. Pradeep was overseeing the Profit and Loss of a business unit that included a portfolio of Fortune 500 companies at Mu-Sigma prior to this. He led the dealer development and customer success teams for West and South East India at Caterpillar, where he started his career. He worked for KPMG as a management consultant as well.
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Here’s what they said
Pradeep Saluja, COO of HiveMinds, shared,
“HiveMinds has established itself as a leading player in the Digital Marketing space. The leadership’s unwavering focus on delivering value to clients and fostering an employee-centric culture echoed well with my values. I am excited to join HiveMinds and look forward to working closely with our highly energetic and capable teams to deliver sustainable growth and impact to our clients.”
Jyothirmayee JT, CEO and Founder of HiveMinds, commented,
“We are delighted to welcome Pradeep to HiveMinds. His extensive experience and proven leadership, especially in digital transformation and operations, align perfectly with our vision for the future as we expand and evolve in the digital marketing landscape. His appointment marks a significant milestone in our journey, and I eagerly anticipate the innovative solutions and lasting partnerships that will undoubtedly flourish under his leadership.”
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