A new entrant in the personal artificial intelligence sector, Tab, has officially emerged from stealth with a reported $300 million valuation. Announced on Tuesday, the company joins a growing wave of consumer AI assistants, including recent high-profile launches like Instinct and Meta’s Muse, designed to manage daily responsibilities such as travel bookings and shopping.
Founded earlier this year by Brennan Erbz, Stafford Schlitt, and Ammar Amdani, Tab operates through familiar messaging platforms. Users interact with the assistant via iMessage or WhatsApp, texting requests ranging from grocery orders to gift recommendations. According to Amdani, the system handles these tasks autonomously, effectively acting as a dedicated aide with its own phone number and digital wallet.
“You text it like you’d text someone you trust and it takes the weight off,” Amdani explained. “The bills, the bookings, the calls you keep putting off… It has its own phone number, computer, and wallet, so it doesn’t tell you how to do those things. It does them.”
The venture secured backing from notable investors including SV Angel, Valar Ventures, and American Spirit. While the company declined to disclose specific funding amounts, Amdani noted that growth is currently driven largely by word-of-mouth referrals, with a new product launch planned for the near future.
Amdani acknowledged the competitive landscape, describing the current market as a race to enhance AI capabilities. However, he emphasized that technical prowess alone is insufficient. Drawing a parallel to the declining role of traditional community figures like family doctors, he argued that the critical differentiator will be user confidence.
“We think the harder question is whether you should let it in,” Amdani said. “Any AI assistant that can read emails or make phone calls or purchase stuff is only as good as your trust in it.”
To address these concerns, Tab’s architecture prioritizes data privacy and user consent. The company states that user data is never utilized for AI training, financial information is stored in a secure vault inaccessible to the AI itself, and irreversible actions require explicit user approval. “Capability is table stakes. Trust is the product,” Amdani concluded.
This could save me hours of admin work. If it actually handles bookings autonomously, I’m in. When is the public launch?
Another $300M valuation for a chatbot wrapper? I’ll believe the privacy claims when there’s independent audits. Sigh.
Trust is definitely the right focus. With all the data breaches lately, privacy-first design isn’t just a feature, it’s a necessity.
An AI with its own wallet? I’m equal parts fascinated and terrified. How do I know it won’t buy something stupid?