"I Just Wanted to Impress the Girls"... $2 Million Monthly Revenue for 18-Year-Old in the US

Developed an App That Calculates Calories from Food Photos
Achieves $1.4 Million in Monthly Revenue
Gains Attention on Social Media for Driving a Lamborghini to Class

A teenage entrepreneur in the United States has developed an AI-powered calorie counting app that is generating $1.4 million (approximately 1.95 billion won) in monthly revenue, drawing attention in the startup market.

Zach Yadegari, who became a hot topic for showing up to class driving a Lamborghini. Screenshot from Zach Yadegari's social media.

On September 6 (local time), CNBC in the United States spotlighted the success story of 18-year-old Zach Yadegari, the developer of "Kal AI." Kal AI is a service that analyzes the calories of food automatically when users upload photos, boasting an accuracy rate of about 90%.

The app, which launched in May last year, quickly gained popularity through word of mouth and saw immediate success. In its first month alone, it generated $28,000 in revenue, and its cumulative downloads have now surpassed 8.3 million. The monthly subscription fee is set at $2.49, with an annual plan at $29.99. After deducting app store commissions, the app brings in about $1.4 million per month. The company has also expanded its workforce to around 30 employees.

Yadegari developed the app while he was a high school student, working from his parents' home in Roslyn, New York. He explained the background for creating the app, saying, "I started working out to make a good impression on the girls at school, but existing calorie tracking apps were inconvenient because you had to manually enter every food item." Based on this idea, he teamed up with Henry Langmack, whom he met at coding camp, and Blake Anderson and Jake Castillo, whom he connected with through social media, to co-develop Kal AI.

His development journey began in childhood. At around age seven, he attended a coding camp at his mother's suggestion, and then honed his skills through self-study using YouTube tutorials and online communities. As a high school student, he created a game website called "Total Science" that bypassed the school's network restrictions, and this site was sold for about $100,000 this past February.

Along with his success story, Yadegari's lifestyle has also attracted attention. On social media, he has shared images of himself driving a Lamborghini to class and hosting parties with friends at his mansion, drawing widespread interest.

Yadegari enrolled in the University of Miami's business school this August, but reports indicate he plans to focus on entrepreneurship rather than academics. He aims to "scale up Kal AI into the largest calorie tracking app in the industry" and has set a long-term goal of surpassing the 270 million users of the current industry leader, MyFitnessPal.

Regarding his future plans, he stated, "Within two years, I plan to either sell the company or transfer management, and then take on a completely new AI startup." He also shared his philosophy: "Age doesn't matter in entrepreneurship. What matters is skill, and ultimately, the market decides success or failure."