Tiki, China-Linked Short Video App, Announces Closure Amidst Competitive Landscape and Regulatory Challenges
- ByStartupStory | June 12, 2023
Tiki, a social media platform, has announced its closure by the end of this month. In a recent Twitter post, Tiki expressed regret over the shutdown and informed users that all Tiki functions and services will cease on June 27, 2023, at 11:59 PM India time. This development marks the second instance of a China-linked short video app winding up this year, following the closure of Zilli, owned by Xiaomi, in February 2023.
The specific reasons for Tiki’s shutdown were not explicitly mentioned by the company. However, it is believed that factors such as low adoption rates (referring to daily active users), a lack of monetization channels, and the government’s crackdown on China-linked apps likely contributed to the decision. Additionally, the short video industry has been highly competitive, with Indian platforms like ShareChat and DailyHunt successfully raising significant amounts of funding over the past year.
Since its launch in early 2021, Tiki has garnered more than 124 million downloads from both the Google Play Store and iOS, with Android downloads accounting for nearly 99% of the total. Tiki successfully positioned itself among the top 30 highest-grossing apps in India and claimed the eighth spot among the most popular free social apps.
Tiki made its entry into the Indian market shortly after the ban on Chinese apps, including TikTok, in June 2020. The Singapore-based company, DOL Technologies Pte Ltd, operated the short video app. Entrackr has examined the filings of DOL but found no evidence of a liquidation process. The closure of Tiki coincides with a challenging period for many short video apps, as they grapple with monetization and expansion issues. This trend is reflected in the financial performance of DailyHunt and Sharechat during FY22, along with the ongoing consolidation in the industry.
As per reports, ShareChat incurred a loss of Rs 2,988 crore in FY22, generating a revenue of Rs 347 crore. Similarly, DailyHunt reported a loss of over Rs 2,500 crore in the financial year ending in 2022. In February of the previous year, ShareChat’s Moj merged with MX Player’s Mx TakaTak in a strategic move, while Mitro TV, backed by Blume Venture, was ultimately acquired by the Twitter competitor, Koo, in 2022. Furthermore, MX Player’s losses surged to Rs 740 crore in FY22, with operating revenue reaching Rs 36.8 crore.
Follow Startup Story
Related Posts
