Cal AI co-founder Zach Yadegari launches AI agent startup Persona with $10M raised

Zach Yadegari, co-founder of Cal AI, has unveiled Persona, a new AI agent startup, and confirmed it has raised $10 million. Vine Ventures led the round, with Z Fellows founder Cory Levy and Collective Global participating.

Persona is a personal AI assistant that will include a $179 wearable band. Unlike ambient AI devices, the band will not always be listening; it activates via a button or a wrist flick. The AI model runs in Persona's cloud rather than on the device, with user data encrypted in transit and at rest. Users can also delete their data.

Yadegari previously co-founded Cal AI, the viral calorie-tracking app that MyFitnessPal acquired in March 2026 after it reached more than $30 million in annual revenue in under two years. He left MyFitnessPal in June to work on Persona.

The startup is currently available as a free beta, letting users interact with the assistant through iMessage. It has attracted a few thousand beta users and generated five figures in preorder revenue for the band.