TechCrunch Disrupt 2026: Cal AI's Zach Yadegari shares strategies for generating viral growth and leveraging it

Zach Yadegari co-founded Cal AI at 17, and by his 20th birthday the photo-based AI nutrition app had surpassed 15 million downloads, crossed $30 million in annual revenue, and been acquired by MyFitnessPal. At TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, he will sit down for a fireside chat on the Builders Stage titled "How to Create Viral Growth and Capitalize On It," explaining how a consumer app built by teenagers broke through a crowded market — and what happened next.

From First Exit to Cal AI

Yadegari was no stranger to online audiences before Cal AI. At 16, during the COVID-19 pandemic, he sold Totally Science, a gaming platform he founded that attracted more than 5 million users, in a six-figure deal. As a high school senior, he then co-founded Cal AI, an app that estimates calories, protein, carbs, and fat from a photo of a meal, using image recognition combined with the phone's depth sensor.

Growth came quickly. In under two years, Cal AI passed 15 million downloads and more than $30 million in annual revenue.

The MyFitnessPal Acquisition

MyFitnessPal acquired Cal AI in a deal that closed in December 2025. Notably, the deal kept Cal AI running as a standalone app, retained its seven-person team, and left Yadegari in charge — a structure that signals the buyer valued the product's momentum and its young founding team rather than folding it into an existing app.

At Disrupt, Yadegari plans to cover both sides of that breakout: the distribution tactics that won a massive audience fast, and the harder problem of converting viral attention into durable retention and long-term company building.

The Event and What to Watch

The fireside chat is one of 200+ sessions across six industry stages at Disrupt, running October 13–15 at Moscone West in San Francisco. Organizers expect more than 10,000 founders, investors, operators, and tech leaders, 250+ speakers, roundtables and breakouts, and 300+ exhibiting startups, alongside matchmaking and networking programming.

Discounted passes remain available until September 25 at 11:59 p.m. PT, with savings of up to $200 and a second pass at 50% off select ticket types.

What to watch: with Cal AI now operating inside MyFitnessPal as an independent unit, Yadegari's remarks may offer an early indication of how post-acquisition consumer AI apps sustain growth once the initial viral wave fades.