GoKawiil
Tech News
At TechCrunch Disrupt, 19-year-old Zach Yadegari explained how his calorie-tracking app Cal AI grew by paying a large number of influencers to post about the product, negotiating payouts tied to audience reach. He said the company, founded in 2024, generated over $30 million in revenue in two years before being acquired by MyFitness in March for an undisclosed sum.
Zach Yadegari, co-founder of Cal AI, has launched a new AI venture called Persona and secured $10 million in funding led by Vine Ventures. The startup plans to release a $179 wearable band that activates a personal AI assistant, emphasizing user privacy by processing data in the cloud with encryption and user control options.
Cal AI, an AI nutrition app that estimates calories and macros from meal photos, was co-founded by Zach Yadegari at age 17 and grew to more than 15 million downloads and over $30 million in annual revenue. MyFitnessPal acquired the company in a deal that closed in December 2025. Yadegari is set to discuss the app's growth and his approach to capitalizing on it at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026.