AI Agent Startup Instinct Raises $1 Billion at $10 Billion Valuation

Summary

Consumer AI assistant startup Instinct has raised $1 billion in Series C funding from investors including Sequoia Capital, Benchmark Capital, and Coatue, valuing the company at $10 billion. The round came about a month after an earlier financing valued Instinct at $2.5 billion, and only shortly after the company launched its invite-only service in August 2026. Instinct’s agent can use its own phone number and computer to book travel and restaurants, make purchases, pay bills, cancel subscriptions, research topics, and order groceries. New features include Concierge, which can place calls for tasks such as appointments without online booking, and a trusted-person network that lets users’ agents coordinate plans. These capabilities require users to share substantial personal information, and Instinct’s original privacy policy drew criticism before being updated. The company is also competing with Meta’s Muse assistant, which offers similar task automation and can work with Instagram, Facebook Groups, and Marketplace; Muse has reached the top of U.S. app stores after millions of downloads. Instinct still communicates through SMS and has no mobile app, while it has not disclosed user numbers or growth metrics. Founder Noah Shinn said the funding will support wider access and continued development of the personal agent.