Dailyhunt in Advanced Talks to Acquire Social Media Platform Koo

Dailyhunt is reportedly in advanced negotiations to acquire the social media platform Koo, as per a report by TechCrunch released on Wednesday. The deal, which could be finalized “within weeks,” involves a share-swap agreement.

Koo, founded in 2020 by Aprameya Radhakrishna and Mayank Bidawatka, is considered India’s alternative to Elon Musk’s X, formerly known as Twitter. Bidawatka previously mentioned the company’s search for a strategic partner, stating on LinkedIn, “From growing rapidly to cutting down on growth and proving unit economics, within 6 months of revenue experimentation, we took a 180-degree turn and proved that this is a real business.”

The platform has garnered over $60 million in investments from backers such as Tiger Global, Accel, Mirae Asset, and Blume. Despite initially claiming the title of the second-largest microblogging site after X in November 2022, reports indicate a decline in monthly active users in subsequent years.

According to market research firm Sensor Tower, Koo’s monthly active users plummeted from a peak of 4.5 million in January 2021 to 1.7 million in September 2023. Additionally, in April 2023, the platform terminated approximately 30% of its 260 employees, citing the need to “work towards proving its unit economics.”

Koo has focused on supporting local languages to broaden its user base, although many global apps like WhatsApp and Facebook already offer Indian language support. Meanwhile, Dailyhunt, established in 2010 by Virendra Gupta, operates as a news aggregator application available in 14 languages. It was last valued at $5 billion.