Koo: A coup in the making?

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Indian startups have shaken and stirred many a sector with their agility and innovation in defining new markets or new ways of doing business. But they have seldom stood up against global competitors. There could be a coup in the making with Koo app attracting big hitters on its platform at a time Twitter and the government are at loggerheads.

What is Koo?

Not unlike its main competitor Twitter, Koo is a microblogging social media platform. Its founders are Aprameya Radhakrishna and Mayank Bidwatka. Radhakrishna was the founder of TaxiForSure that was later sold to Ola.

Last year, Koo won the Atmanirbhar App Innovation Challenge.  The app rose to fame with Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioning it in his ‘Mann Ki Baat’ address.

The Data

As of today, Koo has 1M+ downloads on Google PlayStore with 63,000 reviews giving it a 4.5 / 5 rating. The app is available in six languages (Hindi, English, Kannada, Tamil, Telegu, Marathi) and another 12 languages including Nepali coming soon. The app can be downloaded from PlayStore and a phone number-based OTP verification.

Public figures on Koo

Among many notable early adopters of the social media platform are Union minister Piyush Goyal and Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan; author Amish Tripathi; and actor Anupam Kher.

Trending on Koo

At 2pm on February 11, two days after many high-profile personalities announced their move to the Koo app on its competitor Twitter, the trending hashtags suggest nationalist sentiments like #modistrikesback #koovstwitter and #bhartiyasocialmedia

Why the sudden popularity?

The timing of public figures announcing their move to Koo comes at a time when the Indian government and Twitter seem conflicted on the former’s request to block certain accounts that the latter is yet not in agreement with.