Mayank Bidawatka, the co-founder of homegrown microblogging platform Koo, announced on LinkedIn that the company is in talks with “multiple partners” for a “strategic partnership”.
This announcement follows media reports indicating that VerSe Innovation, the parent company of media startup Dailyhunt, is in advanced negotiations to acquire Koo, the Bengaluru-based social network positioned as an alternative to X, formerly Twitter.
TechCrunch reported that the potential deal includes a share-swap agreement and might be finalized within weeks.
Taking to LinkedIn, Bidawatka said, “Our responsibility towards a wider community of stakeholders (users, creators, VIPs, investors, policy makers, media) forces us to not share anything prematurely while we’d like to say more.”
“Requesting your patience till we can share more concrete details of this partnership that will help Koo take wings in an organic manner and help challenge global competitors in a meaningful way,” he added.
A few months ago, Bidawatka suggested that, given the ongoing funding challenges and disruptions in the startup ecosystem, Koo is exploring a strategic partnership.
“The next phase for Koo is to build scale, and that will happen with either funding or through a strategic partnership with someone who already has scale,” he had said.
Koo has notable investors such as Tiger Global, Accel, and 3One4 Capital, while VerSe Innovation has received funding from entities like Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Sofina Group, with a last valuation of $5 billion.
