Twitter's Indian rival Koo fires 30% staff on funding crunch: Report

Koo, backed by Tiger Global, has more than 60 million downloads

Koo, an Indian rival of Twitter, has laid off nearly a third of its workforce in recent months as it struggled with losses and failed to raise funds, Bloomberg reported on April 20.

The microblogging application reportedly dismissed 30 percent of its 260 workers as the "global sentiment right now is more focused on efficiency than growth and businesses need to work towards proving unit economics", a spokesperson for the company told Bloomberg News.

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Moneycontrol could not independently verify the report.

The three-year-old Bengaluru-based company benefited from Twitter’s spat with the Indian authorities over the content on its platform as many citizens, including government officials and Bollywood celebrities, flocked to Koo as a local alternative. However, the current struggle to access cash comes amid a global rout for technology companies and depressed investment activity that has slashed billions from valuations of once high-flying startups.

Koo, backed by Tiger Global, has more than 60 million downloads and also counts Accel and Kalaari Capital among its investors. It had raised funds at a valuation of $273 million in 2022, according to research firm Tracxn.

The startup has supported the dismissed employees through compensation packages, extended health benefits and aid in finding new jobs, the spokesperson told Bloomberg.