Lessons Well Learned — This 18-Year-Old Learned To Code At Age 7 — Now His AI App Makes $1.4 Million Per Month

University of Miami freshman Zach Yadegari took a coding class when he was seven years old and grew up to design an AI-powered fitness app that generates $1.4 million per month, according to CNBC. 

Yadegari,18, splits his time between being a student and running his company, Cal AI, shared his story with CNBC's "How I Made It." It began when his mom noticed how much he loved playing computer games like Minecraft and sent him to a software coding camp. Yadegari said he was so inspired that he "started binge-watching YouTube" coding tutorials and reaching out to content creators for advice on how to improve.

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His first coding project, Totally Science, was a gaming website that allowed users to circumvent blocking technology and play computer games on their school's wi-fi network. Yadegari sold the website to gaming company FreezeNova for around $100,000, according to documents reviewed by CNBC. 

"I think that entrepreneurship is really cool because at the end of the day, age doesn't really matter much," he said. "You're either good or not good at what you do, and then the market will decide the results."

Yadegari's next idea was to start a mobile app "because everyone has a phone in their pocket," but that none of the early efforts proved to be very successful. His "eureka" moment came when he combined his mobile app design ambitions with his passion for fitness. He said he'd been working out and tracking his meals, a time-consuming process that required him to input all his meals into his calorie tracking apps.

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Yadegari told CNBC he linked up with Henry Langmack, a friend from coding camp, and two contacts they had made on X, Blake Anderson and Jake Castillo, to strategize on how to make a user-friendly calorie-counting app. They decided to create an app that uses AI to count calories by analyzing photos of food that users upload into the app. Yadegari said he and Langmack wrote the code for the app, and it generated $143,000 in its first two months of operation.

After that early success, Yadegari said he continued to write code and help develop the app while maintaining a 4.0 GPA. "My parents are really happy with everything with Cal AI, especially my mom. She actually uses the app," he told CNBC. "Overall, they're really proud." Users can download the app for free, but using it requires a subscription that costs $2.49 per month or $29.99 per year.

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Today, Cal AI has 30 employees and generates $1.4 million per month, according to documents reviewed by CNBC. Yadegari, who recently posted an Instagram video about his lifestyle that featured fancy cars and swimming pools, told CNBC he doesn't expect to stay in school for the full four years. He said he sees himself becoming a "serial entrepreneur."

Yadegari isn't sure what his next project will be, he said he's certain it will involve harnessing AI, which he plans to make his life's work: "Ideally, it really shapes the future and is part of my legacy."

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