Orkut Founder Calls for Revival of Defunct Social Network, Citing AI and Algorithm Concerns

Orkut Büyükkökten, the founder of the once-popular social network Orkut, is calling on users to support a potential revival of the platform, more than a decade after it shut down. In an October 2026 post on X, Büyükkökten urged people to visit Orkut.com, add their names in support of bringing it back, and invite others to do the same.

Orkut first launched in 2004 as a side project Büyükkökten developed while working at Google. The platform grew significantly popular in India and Brazil before losing ground to Facebook. Google shut it down in September 2014, redirecting its focus to other platforms including Google+ and YouTube.

In a letter published on Orkut.com, Büyükkökten criticized the direction social media has taken over the past two decades, specifically targeting the growing role of algorithms and AI-generated content. “Artificial intelligence is extraordinary technology, but it’s dissolving the one premise that made social networking special and worth building: that there was a person on the other side,” he wrote. He added that he wants to “rebuild the internet we first loved. The one with authentic people, real connection, and genuine belonging.”

This is not Büyükkökten’s first attempt to re-enter social networking after Orkut’s closure. In 2016, he launched a platform called Hello, focused on connecting people through shared interests. It shut down in 2020 after accumulating more than 2 million downloads — a fraction of Orkut’s roughly 300 million active users. In 2022, he hinted at another new venture on Orkut.com, and in 2024 told WIRED he was developing a social network using AI and machine learning to build communities. That platform has not launched.

Büyükkökten has not clarified whether a new version of Orkut is currently in development or whether the platform will formally return. TechCrunch reported that a request for comment sent to Orkut received no response.