Avec’s Tinder-style email app lets you swipe through your inbox

Apps like Superhuman and Mimestream have tried to get people to zero inboxes on desktop. Now, a new app called Avec for mobile devices aims to reach your inbox with Tinder-style swipe cards and voice replies.

The app, initially available on iOS, uses Tinder-style cards, where, by default, a left swipe adds the email to a pile you can address later, and a right swipe adds it to the Done (or Archive) pile.

The “set” of email cards also has a button at the bottom that lets you press to respond to emails using your voice. When you release the button after speaking, the transcription will appear as a draft. You can review the text for errors, make any necessary edits, and then send the email.

Although apps like Wispr Flow, Willow, and Monologue exist, they are restricted by Apple’s APIs, and users need to install them as a separate keyboard app to work, Avec said. At the same time, Avec has the full context of your email, so it can understand names and apply better adjustments based on email style. Because of this context, the email app can understand your personal email style, too, the company said.

While managing your inbox, Aved lets you flag unimportant emails by scrolling down a specific email. The email will learn from what has been put in the junk pile and can show you in a group instead of forcing you to sort through these emails one by one.

Although the card-based interface is Avec’s unique feature, it also offers a plain old menu-based view.

The app was founded by Jonathan Unikowski, who previously worked at Replit in a product engineering role. Unikowksi said he was thinking about building tools he would use every day. He explored ideas such as creating a browser, but ultimately ended up creating email.

“This is the thing that hasn’t changed in twenty-five years,” Unikowksi told TechCrunch over a phone call. He said Gmail was the last big change in email, which had long-term effects on how email is managed. “It’s a big part of everyone’s life, no matter how much they hate it. It seemed very clear to me that with a combination of really good design, and of course the judicious use of these new AI tools, we can do much better.”

Avec is not alone in this thought process. Aside from Superhuman, apps like Shortwave and Spike have experimented with different ways of delivering email. In the past decade, Basecamp’s Hey has tried to “reinvent” email by becoming a new provider, but as a paid service, it hasn’t reached the same scale as Gmail.

When I asked Unikowksi about choosing mobile over desktop as the first place to launch an email client, he said that platform limitations can force creativity, and mobile is usually where people look at their emails.

“I’m really a big believer in this idea that limitations force creativity, so you get away with a lot on an iOS app. On phones, you have a very small screen [as compared to the desktop]. You don’t have a physical keyboard. So, if you want to convince someone to install a new app, it has to be really good. For it to be really good, you have to be very creative.

The app is currently available in the US and is free to use for Gmail users. Outlook support is underway. Unikowksi said the company plans to offer paid tiers at some point, but is still thinking about what features to include in this premium offering.

The company has raised $8.4 million in funding to date from investors, including Lightspeed and Haystack, with participation from individuals such as Replit CEO Amjad Massad, Replit AI lead Michele Catasta, Behance co-founder Scott Belsky, and Lenny Rachitsky.