Tab, a new personal AI assistant, emerges from stealth at a $300 million valuation
Startup Tab, which builds a personal AI assistant, has officially launched with a $300 million valuation. Users interact with the assistant by messaging it on iMessage or WhatsApp.
The company Tab announced on Tuesday that it has officially come out of stealth, valued at $300 million. It declined to disclose the exact funding details.
Tab joins a growing group of consumer AI assistants that includes the widely popular Instinct and Meta's Muse. These products promise to help with everyday tasks such as making reservations or arranging travel.
How it works
Tab was founded by Brennan Erbz, Stafford Schlitt and Ammar Amdani, who began work on the product earlier this year. Amdani told TechCrunch that users message the assistant on iMessage or WhatsApp with whatever they need, such as ordering groceries or finding birthday gifts, and Tab carries it out. According to him, the assistant has its own phone number, computer and wallet.
Amdani said the assistant can take over bills, bookings and calls that people keep putting off, and can also help them remember loved ones.
Trust as the central question
The co-founder acknowledged that a consumer AI race is under way. In his view, the winners will not necessarily be those with the best demos; the harder question is whether people should let an assistant into their lives. An AI that can read emails, make calls or buy things is only as good as the user's trust in it, he said.
Amdani said user data is never used to train AI, the payment card is kept in a vault that Tab itself cannot see, and nothing that cannot be undone happens without the user's approval.
Investors in the round include SV Angel, Valar Ventures and American Spirit. The company is currently growing mostly by word of mouth and plans to launch a new product soon.
