How a Small Army of Influencers Fueled Cal AI’s Viral Success
Cal AI’s viral growth was driven by a strategy its founder, Zach Yadegari, described at TechCrunch Disrupt: recruit a large group of influencers, pay them to post, and track how many users each campaign brings in.
Founded in 2024, the calorie-tracking app got an early boost when a single influencer post brought in roughly 1,000 users over two days. That response convinced the team to scale up its influencer outreach. Yadegari said the results were relatively predictable: each post reached an audience, and a portion of those viewers became users.
The company negotiated payouts based on the reach influencers could deliver, then asked them to keep posting until they met agreed targets. Yadegari said the strongest partners had close-knit communities, where their audience and engagement were easier to measure.
The approach helped Cal AI grow quickly. It generated more than $30 million in revenue over two years before being acquired by MyFitnessPal in March for an undisclosed sum.
At the event, Yadegari also spoke about his own path. The 19-year-old credited his family with giving him room to pursue his ambitions, but was less convinced that college was essential, joking that its main appeal was the social experience.
Earlier in October, he launched Persona, an AI assistant startup that has raised $10 million. Yadegari said Persona aims to make computing feel seamless in everyday life, with an assistant available through channels such as messaging, apps, email, and phone calls. The company also plans to build a hardware ecosystem around the service.
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