Microblogging platform Koo, an alternative to X, is shutting down its service after acquisition talks fell through, founder Aprameya Radhakrishna said in a post on LinkedIn on Wednesday.

The decision comes after several talks for a potential sale or merger with multiple companies, including Dailyhunt, failed. Koo has raised over $50 million from investors like Tiger Global, Accel, 3one4 Capital, Kalaari Capital, Blume Ventures, and others.

“Patient, long-term capital is essential to build ambitious, world-beating products from India, be it in social media, Al (artificial intelligence), space, EV (electric vehicle) or other futuristic categories,” Radhakrishna said in a joint post along with cofounder Mayank Bidawatka. “It will need a lot more capital when the space has a global giant already.”

“And when one of these companies takes off, it can’t be left to the whims of the capital market, which goes up and down. It needs a strategic outlook to safeguard it and make it thrive,” he noted.

“These aren’t to be looked at as profit churning machines in two years from launch. They need to be nurtured for a larger long-term play. We would love to see that long-term view for large bets from India,” Radhakrishna added.

Koo had been struggling to raise new capital since last year, after which it explored mergers with many platforms, but none of the talks fructified.

The struggle highlights local social media platforms’ challenges when trying to challenge global rivals. ShareChat, another local social media app, has seen significant operations reductions and has undertaken severe restructuring, including large-scale layoffs.

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