Zach Yadegari, the 19-year-old co-founder of AI-powered calorie-tracking application Cal AI, has raised $10 million for his new startup, Persona, which is developing a personal artificial intelligence assistant capable of completing everyday tasks on behalf of users.
The funding round was led by Vine Ventures, with participation from Cory Levy, founder of Z Fellows, and Collective Global. The investment follows Yadegari's departure from MyFitnessPal, which acquired Cal AI in March 2026 for an undisclosed amount.
Before the acquisition, Cal AI had generated more than $30 million in annual revenue within two years of its launch, according to figures previously shared by MyFitnessPal.
Yadegari continued working on Cal AI following the acquisition but left MyFitnessPal in June to establish Persona. He is developing the new venture with another co-founder whose identity has not yet been disclosed.
Persona is designed as a personal AI agent that can perform activities including booking travel, ordering food, arranging rides, responding to emails and answering questions. The company is also developing a wearable band priced at $179, which is expected to become available in December.
Unlike continuously listening AI devices, Persona's wearable will activate through a physical button or a wrist gesture. The company says this approach is intended to give users greater control over when the assistant is engaged.
Persona's AI processing will take place in the cloud rather than on the wearable device. According to the startup, user information will be encrypted during transmission and storage, with options available for deleting personal data.
The company is also incorporating safeguards against phishing and prompt-injection attacks. Yadegari said the assistant would not have access to users' credit card details, while purchases would require explicit approval and be processed through external payment providers such as Stripe Link.
Persona is currently available as a free beta service through Apple's iMessage platform. Yadegari said the product has attracted several thousand beta users, while preorders for the wearable have generated revenue in the five-figure range.
The startup also plans to introduce advertising into its business model. Sponsored products will appear when users conduct shopping research through the assistant.
Yadegari said advertising placements would not influence the agent's recommendations, as the system selecting products would not know which results were sponsored.
The approach introduces advertising into AI-assisted commerce, where personal agents could increasingly influence how consumers discover and purchase products.
Persona is also developing a dedicated application alongside its wearable device. The company intends to expand the assistant's capabilities beyond responding to requests, with longer-term plans for more proactive task management.
The launch places Persona among emerging consumer AI companies developing assistants that combine conversational interfaces, autonomous task execution and wearable technology.
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