Avec launches mobile email app with $8.4 million in funding

Avec, a new mobile email application, has launched in the U.S. with $8.4 million in funding to date. The app, currently available for Gmail users on iOS, attempts to differentiate itself from traditional email clients through a mobile-first interface. It utilizes Tinder-style swipe cards—a user interface pattern where items are swiped left or right to perform actions—alongside voice-based replies. By default, swiping left on an email card moves it to a pile to address later, while swiping right archives it. Users can also hold a button at the bottom of the card stack to dictate replies; releasing the button generates a transcription draft that the user can edit before sending.

The startup enters a crowded market of productivity tools. While desktop-focused applications like Superhuman and Mimestream have targeted inbox zero—a productivity goal of keeping the email inbox empty—Avec focuses strictly on mobile devices. Other mobile tools like Wispr Flow, Willow, and Monologue operate as separate keyboard applications due to Apple’s API constraints. In contrast, Avec operates with full email context, allowing it to understand names, tone, and personal writing styles. The company also competes with other email platforms such as Shortwave, Spike, and Hey.

Avec was founded by Jonathan Unikowski, who previously worked in a product engineering role at Replit. Referring to email, Unikowski said, “It’s this thing that hasn’t changed for 25 years,” pointing to Gmail as the last major shift. He chose to build for mobile first because of the platform’s inherent limitations. Unikowski believes that constraints force creativity, noting that the lack of a physical keyboard and the small screen size of an iOS app require developers to be extremely inventive to convince users to install a new application.

The application is currently free to use for Gmail users in the U.S. Support for Outlook is in the works, and the company plans to introduce paid tiers in the future as it determines which premium features to offer. Avec’s $8.4 million in funding includes backing from investors Lightspeed and Haystack. Individual investors also participated in the funding, including Replit CEO Amjad Masad, Replit’s head of AI Michele Catasta, Behance co-founder Scott Belsky, and Lenny Rachitsky.

Why it matters

Avec represents another attempt to modernize the stagnant email experience by leveraging mobile-native interaction patterns and AI, challenging established productivity tools with a focus on mobile-first workflows.