Photo calorie app Cal AI was built by two teenagers

In a world filled with “vibe coding,” Zach Yadegari, teen founder of Cal AI, stands in ironic, old-fashioned contrast. Ironic because Yadegari and his co-founder, Henry Langmack, are both just 18 years old and still in high school. Yet their story, so far, is a classic. Launched in May, Cal AI has generated over 5 million downloads in eight months, Yadegari says. Better still, he tells TechCrunch that the customer retention rate is over 30% and that the app generated over $2 million in revenue last month. Although TechCrunch couldn’t validate his download and revenue claims, Cal AI does have a 4.8-star rating on the Apple App Store, with 66,000 reviews, and over 1 million downloads on Google Play with a 4.8-star rating on nearly 75,000 reviews. The concept is simple: Take a picture of the food you are about to consume, and let the app log calories and macros for you. It’s not a unique idea. For instance, the big dog in calorie counting, MyFitnessPal, has its Meal Scan feature. The ... Read full article.