Teen Founder Raises $10M for New AI Startup Persona
Zach Yadegari, a 19-year-old co-founder of Calorie tracking app Cal AI, has launched his new startup, Persona. The company recently raised $10 million in funding led by Vine Ventures with participation from Z Fellows founder Cory Levy and Collective Global. After selling Cal AI to MyFitnessPal for an undisclosed amount—reportedly generating over $30 million annually within two years—Yadegari left the acquired firm last June to focus on Persona. Persona is developing a personal AI assistant, similar in concept to Instinct or Meta’s Muse but with a hardware component: a wearable band priced at $179. The device activates via button press or wrist flick and emphasizes user privacy by running its AI model in the cloud rather than storing data locally. User conversations are encrypted both during transmission and storage. The startup plans to launch the wearable bands this December, alongside an app. Currently, Persona is offering a free beta version accessible through iMessage with several thousand users already signed up. The company also anticipates generating five figures in preorder revenue before release.
Topics: AI funding announcements startups wearable tech