In an era of “vibe coding” and AI-fueled innovation, Zach Yadegari, the teenage founder of Cal AI, stands out—not for being trendy, but for embodying an almost old-school entrepreneurial spirit.
A Classic Startup Story in a Modern AI Age
At just 18 years old, Yadegari and his co-founder, Henry Langmack, have built one of the fastest-growing AI-powered health apps. Launched in May 2023, Cal AI has amassed over 5 million downloads in just eight months, with Yadegari claiming a 30%+ customer retention rate and over $2 million in monthly revenue.
While these numbers are difficult to verify, the app’s 4.8-star rating on the Apple App Store (66,000+ reviews) and 1 million+ downloads on Google Play (4.8-star rating, 75,000+ reviews) suggest that Cal AI is striking a chord with users.
The concept? Take a picture of your food, and the app automatically logs the calories and macros for you.
It’s not a revolutionary idea—MyFitnessPal offers a similar feature called Meal Scan, and SnapCalorie, launched in 2023 by a former Google Lens engineer, also uses image recognition for food tracking.
But Cal AI’s edge may lie in its AI-first approach. Built in the age of large image models, it leverages models from OpenAI and Anthropic, integrates RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) for accuracy, and is trained on open-source food image datasets from platforms like GitHub.
“We have found that different models are better with different foods,” Yadegari told TechCrunch.
Beyond simple food recognition, the team had to solve complex technical problems—like identifying ingredients in packaged foods or recognizing individual components in mixed meals like burrito bowls.
The result? A 90% accuracy rate, which appears to be good enough for many health-conscious users.
Teen Coders, a Hacker House, and the Hustle Mentality
Unlike many young programmers growing up with AI copilots, Yadegari was already coding in Python and C# in middle school.
At 16, he sold his first business for $100,000 to a gaming company called FreezeNova. His idea? A website that allowed students to bypass school firewalls and play games in class.
“After quarantine, schools gave out Chromebooks to all of their students, and unsurprisingly, kids tried to abuse this by playing games in school,” he explained.
When schools blocked access to gaming sites, he built an unblocked games website and named it “Totally Science”—so teachers and administrators wouldn’t suspect it.
Following that sale, he and Langmack immersed themselves in the startup world. They watched Y Combinator videos, networked with fellow coders on X (formerly Twitter), and brainstormed their next big idea.
That’s when they met Blake Anderson on X. Anderson, now 24, had gained attention for building consumer AI apps like RizzGPT and Umax, which provided AI-powered dating advice. He soon joined as a Cal AI co-founder.
The initial inspiration? Yadegari had just started hitting the gym to bulk up and “impress girls,” he admitted with a laugh.
Like many young founders chasing Silicon Valley success, they moved to San Francisco, lived in a hacker house, and worked around the clock to build their prototype.
“Twenty-four-seven grinding, sleeping on the floor… one night, actually, and it was a very fun time,” Yadegari recalled.
But despite their startup grind, Yadegari made a surprising realization—he wanted to go to college.
“We were surrounded by people in their late 20s or 30s all day. And I realized that if I didn’t go to college, this is what life would be like.”
While he hasn’t decided which university he’ll attend, Cal AI is thriving. The startup now includes a fourth co-founder, Jake Castillo (28), as COO, running influencer marketing, along with eight full-time employees, including developers, designers, and social media managers.
Despite their young age, Yadegari and Langmack aren’t just building an app—they’re leading a fast-growing AI company.
🚀 And with over $2 million in monthly revenue, their journey is just getting started.
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