Instinct raises $1B in funding, quadruples valuation to $10B

Instinct, a San Francisco-based AI startup that wants to handle your errands for you, just closed a $1B Series C round at a $10B valuation. The company was valued at $2.5B approximately one month ago. That’s a 4x jump in valuation in about 30 days. From zero to $10B in record time Founded in 2025 by 23-year-old Noah Shinn, Instinct builds what the industry calls “agentic AI,” software that doesn’t just chat with you but actually does things on your behalf. Think of it as a hyper-competent personal assistant that lives inside your phone’s SMS inbox and can make actual phone calls. The service launched as invite-only in August 2026. Within weeks, it had surpassed 100,000 users. That August round brought in roughly $250M and pegged the company’s value at $2.5B. The September 28 close of the Series C, at $1B, catapulted the valuation to $10B. Total funding raised now sits at approximately $350M. The investor list includes Sequoia Capital, Benchmark Capital, and Coatue. What Instinct actually does Instinct’s AI agent handles the mundane logistics that eat up people’s time. Users can delegate travel planning, grocery ordering, bill payments, subscription cancellations, and various concie...