For Zach Yadegari, the answer was more than 15 million downloads, $30 million in annual revenue, and an acquisition by MyFitnessPal — all before his 20th birthday. Yadegari was just 17 when he co-founded Cal AI, the artificial intelligence-powered nutrition app that lets users track what they eat by snapping a photo.
At TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, Yadegari will take the Builders Stage for a fireside chat on “How to Create Viral Growth and Capitalize On It.”
Save up to $200 when you secure your pass by September 25 at 11:59 p.m. PT and hear what Yadegari learned building a breakout consumer app.
Yadegari was still a high school senior when he co-founded Cal AI, but it wasn’t his first experience attracting a large online audience. At 16, he sold Totally Science, a gaming platform he founded that drew more than 5 million users during the COVID-19 pandemic, for six figures.
MyFitnessPal took notice, acquiring the company in a deal that closed in December 2025.
At Disrupt, Yadegari will share what Cal AI learned about building in a distribution-driven market where a product can find a large audience fast — and what it takes to exploit that viral growth when it happens.
Get your Disrupt ticket to learn from Cal AI’s story.
Yadegari’s fireside chat is one of 200+ sessions across six industry stages at Disrupt, October 13–15 at Moscone West in San Francisco.
Secure your ticket by September 25 at 11:59 p.m. PT — and get a second pass for 50% off select ticket types.