Just thirty days after announcing a funding round that valued it at $2.5 billion, AI assistant startup Instinct has closed a new $1 billion Series C investment. Led by major venture capital firms including Sequoia Capital, Benchmark Capital, and Coatue, the latest raise boosts the company’s valuation to $10 billion.
The fundraising, first reported by The Information earlier this month, was confirmed in a press release issued on Monday. The pace of capital injection is notable for a startup that launched its invite-only service in August 2026, highlighting intense investor enthusiasm for the emerging category of consumer AI agents.
Unlike previous iterations of AI assistants designed primarily for conversation, this new generation of agents is built to execute complex tasks. These include booking travel and restaurant reservations, handling bill payments, canceling subscriptions, conducting research, and ordering groceries. When processing these requests, Instinct operates using its own dedicated phone number and computer infrastructure.
The company has recently expanded its feature set with “concierge” capabilities, allowing the agent to make phone calls on behalf of users for services that lack online booking platforms. Additionally, a “trusted person network” feature enables one user’s Instinct agent to coordinate schedules and plans directly with the agents of their friends.
Despite the rapid expansion, the startup faces scrutiny regarding data privacy. Some users have raised concerns about the volume of personal information required to access these autonomous features. Instinct’s original privacy policy was criticized for being overly broad, though the company has since released an updated version addressing these issues.
Instinct also confronts growing competition from Meta, which recently launched Muse, an AI assistant with deep integration into Meta’s social ecosystem. Muse can monitor and summarize Instagram direct messages, track activity in Facebook Groups, and alert users about Marketplace listings. These features have propelled Muse to the top of U.S. app store download charts, accumulating millions of installs.
In contrast, Instinct currently communicates with users exclusively via SMS and text messaging and does not yet have a dedicated mobile application. The startup has not disclosed specific user growth metrics or active user numbers, but investor confidence appears strong.
Founder Noah Shinn declined to grant interviews surrounding the funding announcement but provided a statement emphasizing the company’s long-term vision. “We’re building Instinct to be the best personal agent that can handle the deeply personal nuances of everyday life,” Shinn said. “This funding helps us bring Instinct to more people and continue building the future of personal AI. It’s an exciting, creative time, and we’re just getting started.”
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