Zach Yadegari on Scaling Cal AI from High School Project to Exit

Yadegari launched Cal AI during his senior year of high school, leveraging image recognition technology to simplify nutrition tracking. The app’s premise proved immediately popular, allowing users to calculate caloric and macronutrient intake simply by photographing their meals. This rapid traction followed Yadegari’s earlier success with Totally Science, a gaming platform he sold for a six-figure sum at age 16.

The MyFitnessPal acquisition, which closed in December 2025, kept the seven-person Cal AI team intact and maintained the app as a standalone product under Yadegari’s leadership. At the Builders Stage in San Francisco, he plans to dissect the transition from explosive viral growth to sustainable business operations, focusing on the product pressures that accompany sudden, massive scale.

Yadegari’s session is part of a broader agenda at Disrupt, held October 13–15 at Moscone West. With over 10,000 attendees expected, the event aims to bridge the gap between breakout startups and established industry leaders, providing a platform for founders to navigate the technical and organizational hurdles of scaling in competitive markets.