Dailyhunt in talks to acquire Indian social network Koo
What's the story
Dailyhunt is said to be in the final stages of talks to acquire Koo, a Bengaluru-based social network.
The potential deal, which could wrap up in the coming weeks, involves a share-swap agreement.
Koo has been on the hunt for new funding over the past year, with plans to compete with X (formerly Twitter) by offering support for multiple local languages in India and Brazil.
Quest for partners
Koo is seeking a strategic partner with distribution strength
Koo co-founder Mayank Bidawatka shared in September that the start-up was looking for a strategic partner with "distribution strength" for its next growth phase.
He said, "From growing rapidly to cutting down on growth and proving unit economics, within six months of revenue experimentation, we took a 180-degree turn and proved that this is a real business."
So far, Koo has raised over $60 million from investors like Tiger Global, Accel, 3One4 Capital, Mirae Asset, and Blume.
Koo vs X
Koo sees itself as local alternative to X in India
Koo aspires to beat X by promoting itself as a local alternative in India. Last year, it integrated OpenAI's ChatGPT to assist users in post creation.
However, Koo is yet to attain profitability. Its monthly active users have also been declining.
The company is working toward expanding its user base by utilizing established players.
Dailyhunt has a strong presence in the content space. Valued at over $5B, it reported 57% YoY increase in revenue to Rs. 1,809 crore last year.