Zach Yadegari, the 19-year-old founder of Cal AI, has raised $10 million for his new AI startup, Persona, according to techcrunch.com. The funding round was led by Vine Ventures, with participation from Z Fellows founder Cory Levy and Collective Global. Persona aims to launch a personal AI assistant paired with a $179 wearable band.
After MyFitnessPal acquired Cal AI in March, Yadegari and his co-founders initially stayed on to continue development but he left the company in June to focus on Persona. The new AI assistant will differ from ambient AI devices by requiring activation via a button or a wrist flick, rather than always listening. Yadegari is working with an unannounced co-founder on the project.
Persona enters a growing market of AI personal assistants with hardware components, similar to Amazon’s acquisition of the wearable AI device Bee in 2025. Unlike ambient AI products like Meta’s Muse or Instinct, Persona emphasizes user privacy by limiting when the device listens. The $179 price point positions it competitively within wearable AI devices.
Persona plans to release its wearable AI band soon, targeting users seeking privacy-focused personal assistants. The $10 million funding round led by Vine Ventures will support product development and launch efforts, according to techcrunch.com.