# Cal AI Co-Founder Zach Yadegari Raises $10 Million for Persona

By John Kim

Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/business/28164
Published: 2026-10-08T14:18:02.000Z
Updated: 2026-10-08T14:18:02.000Z
Section: Business

> Persona is developing a $179 wearable band that activates by button or wrist movement, with availability expected in December.

Zach Yadegari, the 19-year-old co-founder of calorie-tracking app Cal AI, has raised $10 million for Persona, a personal artificial intelligence assistant startup developing wearable hardware and software.

Vine Ventures led the funding round, with Z Fellows founder Cory Levy and Collective Global participating. Persona is developing a $179 wearable band that activates through a button or a flick of the wrist. The band is expected to be available in December, while the company is also developing an app.

Persona’s agent will run in the cloud rather than on the band, sending user data to the company’s servers. Persona says the data will be encrypted both in transit and at rest, and users will be able to delete it.

Persona’s agent will not be able to see users’ credit-card details. Purchases will require user approval, with payments handled through external providers such as Stripe Link.

The company has launched a free beta that lets users interact with the assistant through iMessage. Yadegari said the beta has attracted a few thousand users, while the wearable band has generated five figures in preorder revenue.

Persona’s business model includes advertising during shopping research. Yadegari said the assistant will not know which products are sponsored and will base its recommendations on users’ preferences.

The assistant is designed to handle tasks such as ordering food or rides, taking notes, booking travel and answering questions and emails. Persona is also building safeguards against phishing and prompt-injection attempts.

Yadegari left MyFitnessPal in June after the company acquired Cal AI in March for an undisclosed amount. Cal AI had generated more than $30 million in annual revenue in less than two years.