Curtains down for Koo; founders say little yellow bird bids final goodbye
New Delhi (PTI): Social media platform Koo, which had pitched itself as a rival and viable alternate to Twitter (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 LinkedIn, co-founders Aprameya Radhakrishna and Mayank Bidawatka announced that the platform will be discontinuing its services to the public, as talks for a partnership 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 India in 2022 and could have doubled down on that short term goal with capital behind us," they said.
A funding winter, 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 experienced heady growth in user metrics as union ministers and government departments at that time endorsed the homegrown microblogging platform.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Ex-Army officer assaulted, robbed at gunpoint by woman he met through matrimonial website
Mathura(UP), Apr 5 (PTI): A retired Army colonel from Haryana has filed a police complaint here, alleging that he was held hostage, assaulted, looted and forced to participate in an "obscene video" at gunpoint with a woman he met through a matrimonial website, police said on Saturday.
The woman from Mathura, who was allegedly in on the plan to rob him, was working with other accomplices, the ex-armyman said in his complaint filed on Thursday.
According to Barsana Station House Officer (SHO) Raj Kamal Singh, Colonel Rajneesh Soni (retired), a resident of Gurugram, reported that he was contacted by a woman from Barsana on a matrimonial website in January. The woman allegedly agreed to marry him, and they began communicating.
The woman allegedly persuaded the colonel to visit Barsana on January 25, requesting that he visit the Radharani temple. When he arrived, she arranged for his stay at a guest house and took him on a tour of the area, including a visit to the temple, the complainant said.
After returning to the guest house, the woman and her accomplices allegedly told the colonel that her brother had been involved in an accident and they needed to leave immediately. They then led him to a waiting car.
"Once outside the town limits, the colonel alleges that he was attacked by the occupants of the car. They seized his phone, physically assaulted him, and forced him to contact relatives and friends to transfer money," the SHO said.
"He was then taken back to the guest house, where he was allegedly forced to participate in obscene videos and photographs at gunpoint. He was threatened that the videos would be made public if he reported the incident," the officer said.
The colonel has alleged that his purse, bag, gold chain, debit card and Rs. 12,000 in cash were stolen from the guest house.
After an unsuccessful attempt at locating the perpetrators himself, the colonel finally reported the incident to the Barsana police two days ago, he said.
"A case has been registered under relevant sections of the BNS and all facts are being investigated. Further action will be taken as per facts found in the investigation," the SHO said.
