Tab, a new personal AI assistant, has come out of stealth at a $300 million valuation. Per TechCrunch, the startup announced the news on Tuesday, but declined to share how much it raised.
You use Tab by texting it on iMessage or WhatsApp. Co-founder Ammar Amdani told TechCrunch the requests can be as mundane as ordering groceries or finding birthday presents, and that Tab then carries them out. He described the pitch as “the bills, the bookings, the calls you keep putting off”, and said the assistant has its own phone number, computer and wallet. Tab is not a chat app you open, then: it works through the messaging threads you already use.
Who is behind it
Brennan Erbz, Stafford Schlitt and Amdani started work on Tab earlier this year. SV Angel, Valar Ventures and American Spirit are among the investors in the round. Growth so far comes mostly from word of mouth, Amdani said, and the company plans to launch a new product soon without saying what it is.
Trust is the selling point
Tab joins a growing list of consumer assistants, which TechCrunch says includes Instinct and Meta’s Muse. Amdani’s argument is that capability alone won’t decide the winner. “We think the harder question is whether you should let it in,” he said.
The company’s stated safeguards:
- Your data is never used to train AI.
- Your card sits in a vault that Tab itself never sees.
- Nothing that can’t be undone happens without your approval.
These are the company’s own claims, relayed in an interview. There’s no independent testing yet, and the founders didn’t detail how the vault or approval step works.
What we don’t know
Pricing, supported countries and whether Tab works with services in the Gulf haven’t been announced, so GCC availability is unconfirmed. Nor has Tab said which AI models power it, so a direct comparison with ChatGPT or Claude isn’t possible yet. For context on where the big players are heading, see how Gmail’s AI Inbox could let Gemini finish your to-dos and how Claude now works inside Google Docs, Sheets and Slides.
Is Tab available in the UAE?
Tab hasn’t said. It works over iMessage and WhatsApp, but the company hasn’t published a list of supported countries or services.
How much does Tab cost?
Pricing hasn’t been disclosed. The $300 million figure is the company’s valuation, not what it charges or raised.
Can Tab spend money without asking?
Per the company, no. It says nothing that can’t be undone happens without your “yes”, and that your card is held in a vault Tab doesn’t see.
