Homegrown microblogging platform Koo is cashing in on the stand-off between the government and Twitter. Koo was launched last year, after it won the government’s Atmanirbhar App Innovation Challenge in August 2020 and now hosts several union ministers — RS Prasad, Piyush Goyal, Giriraj Singh, Sanjay Dhotre — as also Shivraj Chouhan and BS Yediyurappa, CMs of Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka respectively, on its platform.
Other prominent personalities to have joined this platform include former cricketers Anil Kumble and Javagal Srinath and actor Anupam Kher.
The microblogging site, defined as a platform for sharing personal updates and opinions, was co-founded by entrepreneurs Aprameya Radhakrishna and Mayank Bidwatka. Following the Innovation Challenge, the app was also mentioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in one of his Mann Ki Baat addresses. As per available information, the app has recently raised $4.1 million as part of its Series A funding.
As per Google’s Android Playstore, the app has over one million downloads with a healthy rating of 4.7. Apple’s Appstore doesn’t share download details but there too, the app enjoys a rating of 4.2. The app is available in various Indian languages including Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada among others.
Government ministries and departments such as MeitY, communications ministry, Digi Locker, India Post, National Informatics Centre (NIC), National Institute of Electronics & Information Technology, MyGov, Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), UMANG app, Digital India, CSC, Central Board of Indirect taxes and Customs (CBIC) among others have also joined Koo.
