18-year-old millionaire CEO of AI company rejected by 6 Ivy League schools

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Zach Yadegari, the 18-year-old CEO and founder of a healthcare startup, revealed that he was rejected by multiple prestigious U.S. universities, including six Ivy League schools.



Yadegari leads Cal AI, a nutrition-tracking app that uses artificial intelligence to analyze food images and monitor calorie intake. Under his leadership, Cal AI has experienced significant growth, reportedly generating US$30 million in annual recurring revenue and surpassing one million downloads.

In an interview with Yadegari in November 2024, Forbes wrote: "In an era where artificial intelligence is revolutionizing every aspect of our lives, a 17-year-old high school senior is making waves in the health and fitness tech space. Zach Yadegari, co-founder and CEO of Cal AI, has built a nutrition tracking app that's challenging legacy industry giants by leveraging AI and innovative marketing strategies."

Despite his business success, a 4.0 GPA, and an impressive ACT score of 34 out of 36, Yadegari faced rejection from several prestigious universities, including Harvard, Yale, and Stanford.

On April 1, Yadegari publicly shared on his X account the list of 18 universities he applied to, revealing he was accepted by only three: Georgia Institute of Technology, the University of Texas, and Miami University.

The 15 institutions that rejected him included six Ivy League schools Yale, Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, Brown, and Cornell. He also got rejections from Stanford and MIT.

His post has since garnered over 27.3 million views.

In another post on X, also shared on April 1, Yadegari published his college admissions essay. In the essay, he described beginning programming at age seven and earning $30 an hour teaching others by age 10. By 12, he had launched his first app, and at 16, he left an online gaming company.

He founded Cal AI while still in high school, and the app quickly grew, generating millions in revenue. Initially, Yadegari didn’t think university was necessary, stating strongly that "I will never go to college," but later changed his mind, feeling he was "missing something."

"College, I came to realize, is more than a mere right of passage. It is the conduit to elevate the work I have always done. In this next chapter, I want to learn from humans–both professors and students—not just from computers or textbooks."

"Now, I see that individuality and connection are not opposites, but complements. We are all individuals, but we are also part of something larger. Through college, I will contribute to and grow within that larger whole, empowering me to leave an even greater lasting, positive impact on the world," he wrote.

While many commenters suggested the universities that rejected him missed out, others speculated that his previously strong stance against college education, expressed in the essay, may have contributed to his rejection.

Despite not gaining admission to Ivy League schools, Yadegari remains optimistic. Among the universities that accepted him, Georgia Tech is renowned for its engineering and technology programs, while the University of Miami offers other promising opportunities.

Many believe Yadegari’s entrepreneurial success highlights that traditional academic pathways are not the only routes to success.

VietBF@ Sưu tập