Apps like Superhuman and Mimestream have focused on helping users achieve inbox zero on desktops. Now, a new mobile app called Avec aims to streamline your inbox with Tinder-style swipe cards and voice-based replies.
Available initially on iOS, Avec uses Tinder-like cards; a left swipe sends the email to a pile for later, and a right swipe archives it. The email card stack also features a button at the bottom that allows you to reply using your voice. Upon releasing the button, your spoken words are transcribed into a draft for review and editing before sending.
Avec claims that, unlike apps like Wispr Flow, Willow, and Monolouge, which are limited by Apple’s APIs and require separate keyboard installations, Avec leverages the full context of your emails. It can understand names and provide edits that match the email’s tone, also discerning your personal email style.
In managing your inbox, Avec enables you to mark emails as unimportant by swiping down. The app learns from these actions, grouping similar emails together for easier management. While the card-based interface is a distinctive feature, Avec also provides a standard list view.
Avec was founded by Jonathan Unikowksi, who previously held a product engineering role at Replit. Unikowksi considered other tools like building a browser but settled on enhancing email.
Unikowksi told TechCrunch that email has largely remained unchanged for twenty-five years, with Gmail being the last significant innovation. He believes a combination of effective design and AI tools can significantly improve email management.
Avec is not alone in this venture. Apps like Shortwave and Spike present different methods for email management. Basecamp’s Hey attempted to reimagine email as a provider but hasn’t reached the widespread adoption of Gmail.
Unikowksi said launching on mobile encourages creativity due to platform constraints, as the phone is the main device people use to check emails. He emphasized that an iOS app needs to stand out due to the limitations of a smaller screen and lack of a physical keyboard.
Avec is currently available in the U.S. and free for Gmail users, with Outlook support forthcoming. The company plans to introduce paid tiers in the future, exploring what premium features to offer.
To date, Avec has raised $8.4 million in funding from investors like Lightspeed and Haystack, with contributions from individuals such as Replit CEO Amjad Massad, Replit’s head of AI Michele Catasta, Behance co-founder Scott Belsky, and Lenny Rachitsky.