Tech's Turbocharged Trajectory: How Quickly Innovations Garnered 100 Million Users

Time it took to reach 100 million users worldwide

The speed at which technological innovations gain popularity and reach significant user milestones has accelerated dramatically over the years. Heres a glance at how long it took several groundbreaking technologies and platforms to amass 100 million users worldwide.

1. Telephone: 75 years

Patented by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876, it took approximately 75 years for telephones to become widespread and reach 100 million users globally.

2. Mobile phone: 16 years

Introduced in 1983 with the Motorola DynaTAC 8000X, mobile phones took roughly 16 years to achieve 100 million users worldwide.

3. World Wide Web: 7 years

Invented by Tim Berners-Lee in 1989, the World Wide Web reached 100 million users globally approximately 7 years later.

4. X (Twitter): 5 years

Launched in 2006, Twitter took around 5 years to attract 100 million users worldwide.

5. Facebook: 4.5 years

Founded by Mark Zuckerberg in 2004, Facebook reached 100 million users globally in about 4.5 years.

6. WhatsApp: 3.5 years

Founded in 2009 by Brian Acton and Jan Koum, WhatsApp achieved 100 million users worldwide within approximately 3.5 years.

7. Instagram: 2.5 years

Launched in 2010 by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, Instagram reached 100 million users globally in about 2.5 years.

8. ChatGPT: 2 months

Developed by OpenAI, ChatGPT gained 100 million users worldwide within just 2 months of its release, thanks to its conversational AI capabilities.