Instinct Secures $1 Billion Funding, Valuation Hits $10 Billion

Instinct, a consumer AI agent startup, announced a $1 billion funding round that values the company at $10 billion. The Series C round closed on September 28, 2026, and was led by Sequoia Capital, Benchmark Capital and Coatue. The valuation quadrupled from $2.5 billion just one month earlier. Founded in 2025 by Noah Shin, a former Sierra executive, Instinct offers an early-access service that performs daily tasks such as travel planning, shopping orders, ticket bookings and subscription cancellations.

The newly launched Instinct Concierge extends this capability to offline interactions, handling restaurant phone calls, dental appointment waitlists and cable bill disputes. Agents can now collaborate through a trusted user network, sharing schedules, files and location data to coordinate actions. Security measures include sandboxed execution, short-lived local credentials and identity verification, and a system that detects hallucinations before responses are executed.

Shin said the investment will expand access and advance the personal AI future. The company competes with Meta’s Muse and other firms pursuing agentic commerce, while regulators remain cautious about entrusting sensitive personal data and account access to AI systems.