Koo, the new kid on the tech block, is in discussions with investors to raise funding and hopes to close a deal in the next 2-3 months, Koo co-founder Aprameya Radhakrishna said.
In Talks with Investors
This Twitter rival, which has over the past few months seen a massive surge in user base in the country, is looking at raising more than what was raised in the last round. This year in February, Koo said it had raised USD 4.1 million in series A funding from Accel, Kalaari Capital, Blume Ventures and Dream Incubator, and 3one4 Capital. In all, it has raised about USD 10 million in total funding through multiple tranches.
We raised some money in January and we are in talks with folks who are quite interested to invest money. Talks are on, we will see what works out
Radhakrishna told PTI
Radhakrishna added that the company is pretty hopeful of closing a transaction in next 3-4 months. While he remained tight-lipped about the amount of funding Koo is looking at raising, he said the platform would want to raise more than what it had raised in the previous round.
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“The kind of appetite for social media is being seen in the VCs,” he said. Koo, which has about 60 lakh users on its platform, sees a lot of headroom for growth and is investing on expanding its infrastructure and strengthening its headcount.
Strong Growth
“Koo is a social media platform, which needs to be built over the next decade or so. We will have stages of raising money and different amounts at different stages based on our performance,” Radhakrishna said.
Koo had unveiled its new logo on Thursday. The new logo is a continuation of the yellow bird but with a fresh new look.
The Twitter rival – which is looking at significantly scaling up its user base on the platform, especially driven by vernacular subscribers – is aiming to hit the 100 million downloads.
India remains a critical market for Internet companies like Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter with its large population base and burgeoning Internet adoption. The country is the world’s second-largest telecom market and the biggest consumer of data.
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The pandemic has provided a major boost to digital platforms with a sharp increase in consumers opting for e-services. This is also driving greater investor interest in these businesses. Over the past many months, there have been clarion calls for expanding the ecosystem of homegrown digital platforms.
In the recent past, a number of start-ups in the India including Meesho, Groww, ShareChat and Cred have raised funding and entered the Unicorn Club (companies with valuation of over a billion dollar).
