TheCapTable

Sign In

FintechEdTechIPOInternetFood DeliveryE-CommerceCryptoMobilityLogisticsHealthTechInvestmentsGamingPolicyOTTThe CruxSAASB2B-TechAgriTechStrategyAnalysis

Join our mailing list

Our mailers and newsletters give you fresh, though-provoking perspectives into the world of startups and beyond. Don't miss out

Subscribe

TheCapTable

Home About Us Subscription Contact Us Privacy Policy Terms & Condition

Follow Us

© 2025 The CapTable

Investments

Twitter clone Koo draws Tiger Global at $100-125 Mn valuation

Madhav Chanchani

Aditi Shrivastava

April 01, 2021 | 8 Min Read

April 01, 2021 | 8 Min Read

Koo has won the attention of Silicon Valley investors including Naval Ravikant and Balaji Srinivasan with its proposition of monetizing Indian language speakers. But it may need a ‘TikTok moment’ to give it a boost

New York-based Tiger Global Management is in advanced discussions to lead a $25-30 million funding round in Koo, the microblogging platform that gained prominence after the Indian government’s spat with Twitter, said three people involved in the talks.

Naval Ravikant, an early investor in Twitter and Clubhouse, and crypto evangelist Balaji Srinivasan are also in discussions to back the Indian language microblogging platform. Their investments are expected to close before the Tiger Global round.

The Tiger Global investment is expected to value Koo’s parent Bombinate Technologies at $100-125 million, a 4x increase from its $27 million valuation in February when it raised money from its existing backers.

“Tiger Global has issued a term sheet and is expected to invest around $15 million in the round,” said one of the persons mentioned above. Koo is expected to rope in another institutional investor as well, this person said, declining to provide more details.

THE UPSHOT

Investors are lapping up Indian social media platforms like Koo not because of the popularity of Twitter or Facebook, but encouraged by the successes of the likes of China's Weibo

Bombinate, which also owns Vokal, an Indian language audio-based version of Quora, has raised $12 million so far from Kalaari Capital, 3one4 Capital, Blume Ventures, Accel, and other investors, according to Tracxn.

The company is also executing a round of secondary sale to clear up the stake China-based Shunwei Capital owns in it.

Koo CEO Aprameya Radhakrishna and Tiger Global both declined to comment on detailed queries.

This is a premium article and available only to subscribers.

Already a subscriber? Sign In

What's your right fit?

Be the smartest person in the room. Choose the plan that works for you and join our exclusive subscriber community.

Premium Articles

4 articles every week

Archives

>3 years of archives

Org. Chart

1 every week

Newsletter

4 every week

Gifting Credits

5 premium articles every month

Session

3 screens concurrently

₹1,999 / Year

₹3,999

Subscribe Now

Have a coupon code?

Join our community of 100,000+ top executives, VCs, entrepreneurs, and brightest student minds

company1

company2

company3

company4

company5

company6

company7

company8

company9

company1

company2

company3

company4

company5

company6

company7

company8

company9

Trusted by the best

Karthik Reddy

Blume Ventures

The CapTable brings a refreshing set of insights for us at the Blume team, highlighting stories that bring together the underlying business and founders with that of investors' journeys with these startups. It's an important perspective that very few bring to startup ecosystem enthusiasts.

Umang Bedi

VerSe Innovation

The CapTable is an essential resource for Indian startups. Its insightful analysis and diverse perspectives make it a valuable asset for entrepreneurs and investors navigating the startup landscape.

Ashwin Damera

Eruditus

I enjoy reading The CapTable's insightful coverage of the Indian start up ecosystem. The articles are well researched, are deeply analytical and offer a balanced view. The CapTable has deep access to founders and investors and this enables it to publish very insightful commentary. I appreciate the spotlight they are giving to Indian startups. Kudos to the team!

Latest Articles

Startups are pivoting from disrupting hospitals to running them

Far from the digital disruption they once promised, startups like Pristyn Care, Even, and PB Healthcare are leaning into the brick-and-mortar business of hospitals—where profits, trust, and control still live.

Anuj Suvarna

Lending, but not to farmers: Indian agritech’s identity crisis

Agritechs are pivoting to financial services to boost revenue and scale. Most, however, are steering clear of lending directly to the farmers they once wanted to empower. Instead, the agri-fintech pivot has become a story of scale, risk aversion, and, problematically, systemic exclusion.

Parvathi Benu

Starlink got the green light from DoT. Now the real work begins.

India has tweaked its stringent satellite communication rules after pushback from foreign players like Starlink and Amazon Kuiper. With Starlink agreeing to revised norms, it becomes the third firm set to enter India’s satellite broadband race—but the finish line is still far off.

Pratap Vikram Singh

Why Ather’s IPO didn’t ignite

The lukewarm response to Ather’s IPO was expected. A turbulent stock market, rising competition from Big Auto, and investor wariness after Ola Electric’s listing left shares unappealing. Its long-term story, however, remains intact.

Pranav Balakrishnan

Inside the shifting investing and spending habits of India’s ultra-rich

India’s getting richer, and its ultra-rich are getting younger. An all-new cohort of Indian UHNIs has emerged lately, exhibiting varied investing and spending patterns that set them apart from the generationally wealthy and their heirs.

Sohini Mitter

subscribe_graffiti

Convinced that The Captable stories and insights
will give you the edge?

Convinced that The Captable stories
and insights will give you the edge?

Subscribe Now

If you want to see more, Sign Up for access to our Crux newsletter and several free articles

Sign Up Now