Cal AI’s 19-year-old founder just raised $10M for his new AI startup
techcrunch ·
Zach Yadegari, the 19-year-old co-founder of Cal AI, has launched a new AI agent startup called Persona and successfully raised $10 million in funding. The round was led by Vine Ventures, with participation from Z Fellows founder Cory Levy and Collective Global. This venture follows Yadegari's previous success with Cal AI, which was acquired by MyFitnessPal after generating over $30 million in annual revenue. Persona functions as a personal AI assistant that integrates with a soon-to-be-released wearable band priced at $179. Unlike ambient AI devices, Persona requires user activation via a button or wrist flick to ensure privacy, processing data securely in the cloud rather than on the device. The startup aims to consolidate various daily utility apps into a single super app powered by an AI assistant, offering features like food ordering and travel booking. Although the business model currently includes ads during shopping research, Yadegari promises unbiased recommendations based on user preferences.
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