Avi Schiffmann is replacing God

PLUS: His predictions for AI in 2024...

January 12, 2024

Welcome, Founders & Investors!

Today we’re spotlighting Avi Schiffman, an AI founder and well-known Twitter persona who has just raised $1.9m for his AI hardware startup, Tab. Avi shares his grand vision for Tab, his contrarian tech takes and his predictions for AI in 2024.

We also talk about:

  • His 3 main influencers as a builder and engineer

  • What people get wrong about “young founders”

  • Which AI software tools he’s most excited about

  • A quick-fire on the current state of AI and tech

Read time: 4 minutes 

AVI ON TAB

Avi - what the hell is Tab?!

Tab is not an assistant, period. I’m not building something that’s going to connect to Notion or your emails any time soon. I’m solely building . . . a friend that morphs into your creative partner, life coach, [or] therapist as needed. What I’m trying to do is create a new relationship in your life; radical transparency without concern of judgment. I think this is a relationship people used to have with God but is lacking in the modern world.

And you’re basically pioneering the field here. How was pitching it at the start, and what are your goals for this year?

As far as I can tell, I think I’ll be first to market truly with an always-on wearable. I don’t know what will happen after. My goal is then to scale it as fast as possible.

As far as pitching… people gave me stares but never said anything. I had a roommate who was always hating on it . . . one night I was in the kitchen and we were talking . . . he looked at me and said, ‘Honestly Avi, I forgot you were even wearing that.’

You’ve stated your belief that Tab needs to be ‘always on’? Why is that?

I believe Tab needs to be with me, a parrot on my shoulder—a tamagotchi vibe—and reference hyper-specific things within the framing of my life. That physical hardware traveling with you all the time would create a physical bond of shared experience that you don’t get from an app on your phone.

There’s a huge existing industry of therapy and coaching. But they all have the most fundamental flaw: They all hear what you say you do, not what you actually do. I think a therapist with you 24/7 . . . who doesn’t hear the biased version where you forget the details and who you aren’t fully authentic with. You could view it as an industry I think we’ll completely obliterate.

AVI ON AI

What’s the hardest thing about building Tab?

Getting the hardware specs to a point where they are both functional and aesthetic is always the biggest challenge when it comes to hardware. People think it’s just stacking layers of cool, exciting features on top of one another like you can do in software - but actually, it’s mainly about compromise and working with the finite amount of space you have.

How has the process of building Tab evolved as GenAI has exploded? Did you have times where you were like, let’s just start over entirely?

The past 12 months have been a whirlwind, that’s for sure. I’ve had the seeds of the idea for Tab for more than a year, but the form factor and UI continued to evolve as AI breakthroughs happened. They still do, although not at the same rate as before.

You’ve stated your belief that Tab needs to be ‘always on’? Why is that?

I believe Tab needs to be with me, a parrot on my shoulder—a tamagotchi vibe—and reference hyper-specific things within the framing of my life. That physical hardware traveling with you all the time would create a physical bond of shared experience that you don’t get from an app on your phone.

There’s a huge existing industry of therapy and coaching. But they all have the most fundamental flaw: They all hear what you say you do, not what you actually do. I think a therapist with you 24/7 . . . who doesn’t hear the biased version where you forget the details and who you aren’t fully authentic with. You could view it as an industry I think we’ll completely obliterate.

AVI ON HIS STORY

You seem to reference several disciplines in your process. Who are some of your influencers?

I believe Tab needs to be with me, a parrot on my shoulder—a tamagotchi vibe—and reference hyper-specific things within the framing of my life. That physical hardware traveling with you all the time would create a physical bond of shared experience that you don’t get from an app on your phone.

There’s a huge existing industry of therapy and coaching. But they all have the most fundamental flaw: They all hear what you say you do, not what you actually do. I think a therapist with you 24/7 . . . who doesn’t hear the biased version where you forget the details and who you aren’t fully authentic with. You could view it as an industry I think we’ll completely obliterate.

What’s something people get wrong about young founders?

Getting the hardware specs to a point where they are both functional and aesthetic is always the biggest challenge when it comes to hardware. People think it’s just stacking layers of cool, exciting features on top of one another like you can do in software - but actually, it’s mainly about compromise and working with the finite amount of space you have.

What are some of your predictions for where AI’s going to go in 2024?

The past 12 months have been a whirlwind, that’s for sure. I’ve had the seeds of the idea for Tab for more than a year, but the form factor and UI continued to evolve as AI breakthroughs happened. They still do, although not at the same rate as before.

AVI’S AI RESEARCH

Avi is building Tab into an AI hardware platform that uses local AI models to run it. Below are the research efforts he’s most excited about:

  • X outlined new ambitious plans for AI integration, peer-to-peer payments, and enhanced user experiences in 2024, aiming to transform into an all-encompassing 'everything app'.

  • Luma secured $43M in Series B funding to develop advanced AI-driven 3D modeling technology, promising greater realism and overcoming current generative tech limitations.

  • Sony showed off its electric car on stage at CES, controlling it with a Playstation 5 DualSense controller in a wild demo.

  • McAfee announced an AI-powered Deepfake Audio Detection tool, reportedly achieving a 90% success rate in identifying fraudulent audio to protect users from sophisticated online scams.

AVI’S AI TOOLS

There are thousands of AI tools out there. Here’s what Avi’s most excited about:

  • Luma Genie 1.0- Text-to-3D model generator with HD materials (link)

  • Cognosys 2.0- Your intelligent AI assistant for any tool stack (link)

  • Magnific- Reimagined hi-res AI image upscaling (link)

  • Neuralhub- AI architecture design platform (link)

And that’s a wrap!

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