Mike Prytkov said he knows what it’s like to let stress take over one’s life.

While building his first company, he said he worked long hours and gained weight. After exiting his company (an adtech company called Appness), he said he tried many things to lose the pounds: extreme workouts, calorie tracking, and fasting. “While it worked, consistency was the hard part,” he told TechCrunch.

What he really wanted was a coach who would keep him accountable, he said. So in 2019, he launched Simple, an AI-powered health coaching app that helps people lose weight. Then, in 2023, he added its standout feature: An AI coach named Avo, which helps give tailored advice to users’ needs and progress.

“We wanted to help people lose weight without the guilt or grind that is innate to the toxic diet cultu

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