Instinct
Company ● Covered in 28 stories + Follow ✴ AI Graph LinkedIn
Instinct is an AI agent startup that has built an invite-only, text-message interface for delegating tasks such as booking appointments and sending follow-up emails. Recent coverage places Instinct’s agent as a reference point for the shift toward household “personal assistant” agents, and notes the company’s valuation at $10 billion following a $1 billion funding round. Instinct has also been expanding its agent to group chats with permission-based controls, and its progress was cited as a factor behind Meta moving forward on its own AI agent launch after safety delays.
Updated 14 October 2026
Public sources: Wikipedia
Signals
20 stories (+150%)
Media momentum
As of 19 Oct 2026 · Visible stories in the last 30 days, compared with the 30 days before.
9 sources
Source diversity
As of 19 Oct 2026 · Distinct publications behind this entity's visible coverage.
5 events
Release activity
As of 19 Oct 2026 · Model, product and open-source release events in the last 90 days whose coverage involves this entity.
2 events
Funding signals
As of 19 Oct 2026 · Funding and acquisition events in the last 90 days whose coverage involves this entity.
Aug 2026 → Oct 2026
Coverage span
As of 19 Oct 2026 · First to most recent month of TLDRocket coverage of this entity.
Funding history
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$1 billion Series C announced coverage →
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$1B Other announced coverage →
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$250 million Series B confirmed coverage →
Management
updated 2 Oct 2026-
Noah Shinn
Founder & CEO
- Saagar Godithi Founding Team
- Anuda Weerasinghe Product Manager
- Georgie Koepke Chief of Staff
- Luca Borletti Founding Team
- Wayne Fan Designer, Advisor
Recent changes
- Gabe Larrabee left (was VP Of Engineering)
- Ashwin Datta left (was Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer)
- Wayne Fan joined as Designer, Advisor
- Luca Borletti joined as Founding Team
- Georgie Koepke joined as Chief of Staff
- Anuda Weerasinghe joined as Product Manager
Latest developments
Inside Mark Zuckerberg's Decision to Pull the Trigger on Meta's AI Agent
The New York Times · 1 week ago ·
40
Here are the top AI agents that can live in your text messages
TechCrunch · 1 week ago ·
35
Instinct was the buzziest AI agent around — can it survive Muse?
The Verge · 1 week ago ·
27
Cal AI’s 19-year-old founder just raised $10M for his new AI startup
TechCrunch · 1 week ago ·
29
Hark releases an AI personal assistant with a focus on privacy
TechCrunch · 1 week ago ·
14
Instinct brings its AI agent to group chats, even for friends without an account
TechCrunch · 1 week ago ·
25
2026
Major websites, including banks, began blocking third-party AI agents from logging in and completing actions on users’ behalf Policy change
Meta launches its Muse AI agent after months of delays tied to safety concerns Product launch
Hark launched Hark Pro, a privacy-focused AI personal assistant that can take actions across the web Product launch
Instinct invests in Coatue Funding
Instinct invests in Benchmark Capital Funding
OpenAI launched “dots,” always-on AI agents inside ChatGPT at its DevDay 2026 event Deployment
Meta released its Muse AI assistant for macOS, enabling the agent to perform actions in native apps with user opt-in permissions Product launch
Instinct invests in Sequoia Capital Funding
Instinct, an AI assistant startup, raised a $250 million Series B at a $2.5 billion valuation Funding
- Websites are closing their doors to AI agents
- Cerebras CEO says we’re nearing a future where everyone has a personal AI assistant at home
- Inside Mark Zuckerberg's Decision to Pull the Trigger on Meta's AI Agent
- Here are the top AI agents that can live in your text messages
- Instinct was the buzziest AI agent around — can it survive Muse?
- Cal AI’s 19-year-old founder just raised $10M for his new AI startup
- Hark releases an AI personal assistant with a focus on privacy
- Instinct brings its AI agent to group chats, even for friends without an account
- The Sequence Radar - Issue 944 — Last Week in AI: Last Week in AI: OpenAI Connects the Dots, Gemini Levels Up, and Agents Cash In
- All the AI agents that can live in your text messages
- Why Instinct Feels Magical
- The ugly economics of consumer AI
- Instinct’s new product recommendations are giving some users the ick
- Meet Noah Shinn: The 23-year-old college dropout whose viral AI assistant is emerging as a new challenger to Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta
- Instinct founder said more than 50% of transactions on the platform are travel-related
- AI agent Instinct jumps to $10B valuation with $1B led by Sequoia, Benchmark and Coatue
- Google is killing off Gemini’s Gems in favor of ‘skills’
- Everyday personal AI assistant startup Instinct raises $1B at $10B valuation
- Viral AI agent Instinct raises $1B Series C at a $10B valuation
- Muse sure looks a lot like OpenClaw
- AI agent Instinct seeks $1B at $10B valuation in talks with Sequoia, Benchmark
- Rival AI agents, Instinct and Meta’s Muse, both add the ability to make calls
- Good luck slowing this down
- Viral AI assistant Instinct now has its own email address
- Consumer-focused AI assistant startup Instinct reportedly raising $250M
- Noah Shinn’s Instinct goes from $100M to $2.5B in weeks: 23-year-old’s AI assistant just raised $250M Series B
- Viral AI startup Instinct has raised $350 million at a $2.5 billion valuation
- Instinct’s powerful AI assistant is raising privacy and security concerns
Relationships
Investment & ownership
- Benchmark invests in this company · 4 sources
- Sequoia Capital invests in this company · 3 sources
- Invests in Benchmark · 2 sources
- Invests in Sequoia Capital · 2 sources
- Index Ventures invests in this company · 2 sources
- Coatue invests in this company · 2 sources
- Invests in Index Ventures · 1 source
People
- Founded by Noah Shinn · 2 sources
- Employed by Spear Street Technology · 1 source
Products & technology
- Develops Instinct Concierge · 1 source
- Deploys Instinct AI personal assistant · 1 source
Competition
- Competes with Meta · 1 source