Startup profile · funding coverage
Instinct funding, valuation and investors
Consumer life-ops AI agent you text and call across connected apps and devices.
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Funding, valuation & investors
Answer-first snapshotLatest funding
Series C
$1B · September 28, 2026
Latest known valuation
$10B
Series C · September 28, 2026
Total disclosed equity funding
$1.3B
Excludes debt, grants, acquisitions, secondaries, and IPO proceeds.
Current status
private
growth · San Francisco, United States
Investors in latest funding
Lead: Sequoia Capital , Benchmark , Coatue
Overview
Instinct is a personal AI agent offered by Spear Street Technology. Users connect apps and devices and communicate via texts and calls so the agent can execute life-ops tasks such as travel planning, groceries, tickets, and subscription management. Founded in 2025 by Noah Shinn, the company announced a $250 million Series B around August 26, 2026, co-led by Index Ventures and Benchmark at a $2.5 billion valuation, bringing total funding to about $350 million per TechCrunch citing Wall Street Journal reporting. The product remains in private beta.
Why Instinct is interesting
August 2026 $250M Series B at $2.5B co-led by Index and Benchmark — private-beta personal agent clearing mega-round speed while privacy/permissions debate is still live.
Product & use cases
Horizontal consumer agent for personal task execution across a user’s connected software surface.
- Travel and itinerary planning
- Grocery and ticket purchasing
- Subscription cancellation and calendar ops
- Event / wedding planning assistance
Key facts
- Series B (Aug 2026): $250M @ $2.5B co-led by Index Ventures and Benchmark (reported)
- Total funding ~$350M; product still private beta
- Life-ops agent via text/calls across connected apps
- Founder Noah Shinn; entity Spear Street Technology
Funding history (newest first)
Series C
2026-09-28 $1B Valuation: $10BSeries B
2026-08 $250M Valuation: $2.5BInvestors in our directory
Funds linked from Instinct's profile — open a fund page for stage focus and related deal articles.
Competitive landscape
Edge: Execution-first consumer UX (text/call) versus chat-only assistants — priced as a platform bet before public scale metrics.
Instinct competes on viral consumer distribution and connected-app execution. Main risks are privacy/permissions trust and converting private-beta enthusiasm into retention.
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ChatGPT / Claude / Gemini apps incumbent
Model distribution and brand; less specialized as connected life-ops executors.
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River AI adjacent
Personal AI capital cluster with different product framing.
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Vertical consumer agents adjacent
Narrower job scopes (travel-only, etc.).
Notable stories
- TechCrunch reported the company told the Wall Street Journal about the $250M Series B at $2.5B, bringing total funding to ~$350M.
- Founder publicly cited users planning road trips, buying groceries/concert tickets, canceling subscriptions, and wedding planning with the agent.
Industries
Market / IPO context
Note: $10B Series C valuation announced September 28, 2026
Editorial / static context — not a live quote.
Related funding articles
Venture Capital Tracker pieces that cover Instinct's financing or category context.
FAQs about Instinct
Practical answers founders, operators, and investors typically search for.
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