Koo co-founder and CEO Aprameya Radhakrishna said that Meta's newly launched microblogging app, Threads, does not pose a threat to the homegrown local-language-supporting social media platform. However, he acknowledged that Threads could "potentially threat to Twitter", as both platforms compete for the same English-speaking user base. The comment comes as Threads surpassed over 50 million user count within 24 hours of being launched.
On Thursday, amid growing chatter around Threads, Threads is a potential threat to Twitter as they look to acquire the same English user that Twitter has. Koo has more than 80 per cent of its platform using local language and neither Threads nor Twitter will have more than 5 per cent anytime in the near future."
"80 per cent of the world speaks a non-English native language and they've not been given inclusive experiences on social media. The focus on language will continue for Koo and the inclusion of more people in daily conversations across languages," he added.
Since its launch in March 2020, Koo has become a platform supporting content in more than 20 languages. As per a recent statement by the firm with over 60 million downloads and users across 100 countries, Koo has established a strong presence.
Looking ahead, Koo has ambitious plans to introduce verified profiles, including journalists, bollywood actors, and cricketers, on Koo Premium, enabling them to engage with their subscribers in a more interactive manner, the company said last month as it launched Koo Premium, where creators will have the option to offer exclusive content to their subscribers in exchange for a weekly or monthly subscription fee.
On Thread, the Koo CEO further wrote, "I feel Threads ruined their chances of beating Twitter by starting off with an expectation that the lifestyle Instagram network will be the best start to a thoughts and opinions platform. Lifestyle folks will continue putting out pictures and videos and Threads might never be able to break that and enter Twotter territory."
The app, closely integrated with Meta's popular Instagram platform, offers text-based sharing functionalities. Instagram Threads is being touted as a rival to billionaire Elon Musk-owned Twitter. The platform will let users share mini-posts, just like Twitter, but it will leverage all the elements from Instagram, including usernames, followers, and others.
Notably, Meta has leveraged its massive user base of over 2.35 billion active users on Instagram to drive sign-ups for Threads. As a result, Twitter, the rival social media platform, is beginning to face the impact, with its newly appointed CEO issuing a statement and reportedly considering legal action against Meta.
Meanwhile, New Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino on Thursday asked the Twitter community to "stay together" and that a platform like Twitter is "often imitated." She announced that everyone's voice matters on Twitter.
“On Twitter, everyone's voice matters. Whether you’re here to watch history unfold, discover REAL-TIME information all over the world, share your opinions, or learn about others -- on Twitter YOU can be real," she wrote.
"YOU built the Twitter community. 🙏👏 And that's irreplaceable. This is your public square. We're often imitated -- but the Twitter community can never be duplicated."
As of December 2022, Twitter's users accounted for over 368 million monthly active users globally, according to Statista.