What Kook does

KOOK (legal entity: Beijing Xiaoyaoyixia Technology Co., Ltd., 北京逍遥一下科技有限公司) is a privately held Chinese voice communication platform founded in August 2019 and headquartered in Haidian, Beijing. The company operates a Discord-style social voice service organized around persistent servers and channels, targeting gaming communities, social communities (music, reading, language exchange), and esports players in mainland China. Its core product is a multi-platform client (Windows, iOS, Android, Web) built on WebRTC for real-time voice, augmented with proprietary AI-powered noise reduction (AI Noise Reduction 2.0), screen sharing with up to 4K 60fps professional tiers, in-game overlay with OBS Studio integration, and an open developer platform for third-party bots. KOOK operates six regional server nodes to ensure sub-100ms voice latency for mainland users.

The business model is freemium with multiple monetization layers. The base voice product is free; revenue is generated through (1) BUFF premium subscriptions at approximately ¥19.9/month (with monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, annual, and auto-renewal promotional tiers), (2) KOOK Coins virtual currency (1 CNY = 100 coins; 1 CNY = 70 coins via Apple IAP) used to purchase virtual items, blind boxes, and gems, (3) ¥10 server boosting packages valid for 30 days, (4) KOOK Booster network acceleration service on a pay-as-you-go basis, (5) screen sharing premium tiers, and (6) premium server ID (靓号) vanity purchases. Distribution is product-led and community-led: direct downloads from the official website, mobile app stores, and a web client, with organic marketing through Bilibili, Weibo, and Zhihu. The company is privately held, with no disclosed institutional funding rounds or revenue figures, and operates a relatively flat engineering organization actively hiring across audio/video, client, server, and developer platform roles.

Name

Kook

Legal name

北京逍遥一下科技有限公司

Website

https://kookapp.cn

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Short description

KOOK is a China-based voice communication platform for gaming and social communities, offering persistent servers, channels, AI noise reduction, and bot extensibility across Windows, iOS, Android, and Web clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Gaming Communication Software

NAICS

Software Publishers (513210), Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (516210)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Voice Chat Platforms (Always-On Servers) (MPACAEAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Gaming-Focused Live Streaming Platforms (MPACACAB)

Keywords

• Voice chat software
• Gaming community platform
• Real-time communication app
• Network acceleration service
• Bot development platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Haidian

HQ country

China

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. BUFF Membership Subscription: Monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, and annual subscription tiers providing premium features including high-quality stereo audio, teammate voice noise reduction, custom themes, dynamic avatars, cross-server emoji usage, and increased file upload limits. Auto-renewal subscription available at discounted first-month pricing.
2. KOOK Coins (Virtual Currency): Digital currency purchased with CNY (1 CNY = 100 KOOK coins, iOS in-app 1 CNY = 70 KOOK coins) used to purchase virtual items, gifts, blind boxes, and platform services. Coins cannot be reverse-converted to fiat currency.
3. Boosting Packages: Virtual products that users purchase to boost servers, unlocking premium voice quality, increased member limits, custom server IDs, international dedicated lines, and enhanced server features. Priced at 10 CNY per package with 30-day effectiveness.
4. KOOK Booster (Network Acceleration): Paid network acceleration service using time-based pricing for gaming optimization. Requires Windows PC client, provides network optimization for reduced latency during gaming.
5. Screen Sharing Premium: Screen sharing feature with quality tiers and auto-renewal subscription options for professional users requiring higher resolution and frame rate streaming.
6. Blind Box Products: Mystery box purchases using KOOK coins with random rewards including virtual items, premium features, and lucky server IDs. Includes special tiered reward pools and guaranteed rare item drops at purchase milestones.
7. Premium Server ID (靓号): Premium custom server ID purchases using crystal currency (晶石) with different tiers (Premium, High, Medium, Low) providing vanity server URLs and enhanced discovery features.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Kook provides a free, persistent voice communication platform for gaming communities, structured around servers and channels with real-time voice chat, screen sharing, and bot support. The product is available across Windows, iOS, Android, and web, and is monetized through a layered set of premium services including the BUFF membership subscription, KOOK Coins virtual currency, KOOK Booster network acceleration, server boost packages, and a KOOK Mall with virtual goods and blind boxes.

Product overview

KOOK is a unified voice communication platform for gaming communities, consisting of the core KOOK app plus multiple integrated services. The core platform provides real-time voice chat with servers and channels, screen sharing, and bot capabilities. Adjacent services include the KOOK加速器 (network booster) for reduced gaming latency, KOOK BUFF premium membership for enhanced audio features, the KOOK商城 for digital goods including mystery boxes and virtual items, and 助力包 server boosts for server administrators. The KOOK开放平台 enables third-party bot development via API.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• KOOK加速器: KOOK's network acceleration service providing optimized gaming network performance.
• KOOK开放平台
• KOOK商城
• KOOK BUFF
• KOOK代币
• K2机器人

Products and services

• KOOK Voice Communication App Free, persistent voice communication client organized into servers and channels, offering real-time voice chat, text chat, and screen sharing for gaming teams, friend groups, and online communities. Available across Windows, iOS, Android, and web browsers.
• KOOK BUFF (Membership) Paid membership tier that unlocks premium features and perks within KOOK, including enhanced voice quality, badges, and member-only cosmetics. Targeted at engaged individual users who want an upgraded experience beyond the free tier.
• KOOK Booster (Network Acceleration) Premium network acceleration service that reduces latency and improves connection stability for gamers, particularly valuable for users connecting to game servers across networks.
• KOOK Open Platform (Bot/Developer Platform) Developer platform that enables third-party developers and community admins to build, host, and integrate bots and automation into KOOK servers, extending server functionality with custom commands, games, and integrations.
• KOOK Coins (Virtual Currency) In-app virtual currency used to purchase digital goods, gifts, blind boxes, and other items within the KOOK ecosystem.
• KOOK Server Boost Boost packages purchased by community members to enhance their servers with higher audio quality, increased capacity, more emotes, and other server-level upgrades.
• KOOK Mall Digital storefront within KOOK where users spend KOOK Coins on virtual goods, cosmetics, and blind boxes (randomized item crates).
• Official Esports Companionship Esports-focused service tier that provides official voice infrastructure, branding, and integration support for esports teams, tournaments, and competitive gaming organizations.

Quantifiable outcome

• AI Noise Reduction 2.0 now free with unlimited use (previously limited to 2 hours/day free)
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

AI capability2 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Third-Party SDK ProviderscoreTechnology or IntegrationKOOK integrates third-party SDKs for core platform functions including voice communication (WebRTC-based), payment processing (WeChat Pay, Alipay, QQ Wallet, bank cards, Apple IAP), message push notifications, and audio/video processing. All SDK integrations are disclosed in the Privacy Policy with information on data collection and usage.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Guilded: Gaming-focused community chat platform (acquired by Roblox). Direct analog in targeting gaming clans with persistent voice, text, and event/calendar features overlapping KOOK's gaming-community positioning.
• Revolt: Open-source Discord alternative offering persistent voice and text servers with a developer platform. Comparable architecture and gaming use case, though smaller scale and primarily Western user base.

Broad incumbents

• Slack: Workspace chat platform with persistent channels and integrations. Not a direct competitor in gaming, but architecturally similar (channels, bots via APIs, integration ecosystem) and a reference for how persistent-channel communities scale.
• Tencent QQ: Tencent's flagship messaging and voice product with hundreds of millions of MAUs in China. QQ Voice and group voice rooms are deeply integrated into the Chinese gaming ecosystem and represent the most entrenched incumbent competing with KOOK.
• Microsoft Teams: Enterprise voice/communication platform with persistent channels and a developer ecosystem. Comparable persistent-room architecture, though positioned for enterprise rather than gaming communities.
• YY (Joyy): One of China's largest voice communication and live audio social platforms, now owned by Baidu. Comparable as a Chinese voice-first platform with community rooms, virtual gifting, and subscription monetization overlapping KOOK's revenue model.

Direct peers

• TeamSpeak: Long-standing voice communication software primarily used by PC gaming clans and esports teams. Comparable as a low-latency, self-hosted-style voice platform targeting serious gamers, though it lacks KOOK's community/social layer.
• Mumble: Open-source, low-latency voice chat software used by gaming communities and clans. Comparable voice quality and gaming-target use case, though Mumble is developer/community-maintained and lacks KOOK's commercial feature stack and mobile clients.
• Discord: Global category leader for persistent voice, text, and community servers for gamers. KOOK is explicitly its Chinese-market analog — same server/channel architecture, similar bot ecosystem, similar in-game overlay — though Discord is blocked in mainland China.

Regional players

• NetEase CC: NetEase's voice-focused live streaming and community platform in China. Comparable as a Chinese voice/community product serving gamers and content creators, with virtual gifting mechanics similar to KOOK Coins.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubgithub.com/kaiheila/api-docs

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Kook