India's homegrown microblogging platform, Koo, which aimed to be an alternative to X, is shutting down due to funding shortages and high technology costs. The platform gained popularity in 2021 when several government ministers endorsed it amid a dispute with X, formerly known as Twitter. The disagreement began when X was asked to block accounts spreading fake news, leading to a backlash from the Indian government. While Koo saw rapid growth with 20 million downloads by the end of 2021, it struggled to secure adequate funding and faced challenges in forming partnerships with larger companies. Despite hopes of surpassing X in India in 2022, Koo had to lay off 30% of its workforce in April 2023 due to financial difficulties. The founders expressed regret over the shutdown but cited the high costs of technology services as the reason for their decision.