Zach Yadegari, the 19-year-old founder of Cal AI, told TechCrunch Disrupt that the app's viral rise was driven by a deliberate influencer strategy. An early influencer post brought about 1,000 new users in two days, which convinced him to recruit as many influencers as possible and pay them to post. He described the result as a "clear formula" that was linear and fast: each post produced a predictable number of converting viewers.
The business model involved negotiating rates with influencers, often college students who "just want cash," and tying payouts to reach. Yadegari emphasized finding influencers with "very tight communities" because their audiences could be quantified and converted. Cal AI, founded in 2024, generated over $30 million in revenue in two years and was acquired by MyFitness in March for an undisclosed amount.
Yadegari credited his family for supporting his ambitions and was dismissive of college, saying its only real reason is social fun. Earlier this month he launched Persona, an AI agent startup that raised $10 million. He described the mission as making computing seamless with human life, with an assistant that works across iMessage, app, email, and phone calls, plus a planned hardware ecosystem. The report is based on a single source, so no conflicting accounts are available.