SAN ANSELMO, CALIFORNIA - JULY 05: In this photo illustration, the Threads logo is displayed on a cell phone on July 05, 2023 in San Anselmo, California. Instagram parent company Meta is set to release Threads on July 6, a potential rival to Twitter, the fledgling social media app run by Tesla CEO Elon Musk. (Photo Illustration by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) 
The Threads app, a spinoff from Instagram that uses people’s accounts for that service, got off to a scorching start on Wednesday and racked up 70 million users within two days, going “way beyond our expectations,” according to Zuckerberg.
Read More: Threads to Add $8 Billion to Meta Annual Revenue by 2025, Analyst Says
It’s still early days, but Threads, could generate some serious cash for the social media giant, according to Evercore ISI.
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Threads will reach close to 200 million daily active users and generate about $8 billion in annual revenue over next two years, Evercore ISI analysts led by Mark Mahaney estimate.
The text-centric service closely resembles Twitter in look and functionality, earning the displeasure of Twitter owner Elon Musk who has accused it of being a copycat and an “Instagram minus pics.” The two billionaire owners have traded jibes in recent weeks and Threads is now at the center of an intensifying rivalry.
The new app’s launch has benefited from Meta’s immense reach — Instagram alone has more than a billion regular users — and changes at Twitter that have alienated large swathes of its most active user base. Threads still lacks a number of basic features, such as a chronological feed composed solely of people you choose to follow, but it provides a very familiar experience and doesn’t yet have any advertising.