Instinct closes $1B Series C at $10B valuation, launches group chat feature
On October 5, Instinct — founded by 23-year-old Noah Shinn — closed a $1B Series C at a $10B valuation led by Sequoia, Benchmark and Coatue, four weeks after a $2.5B round, and launched a group chat feature.
On October 5, Instinct — founded by 23-year-old college dropout Noah Shinn — announced a $1B Series C led by Sequoia Capital, Benchmark and Coatue, valuing the company at $10B. The round came just four weeks after a $2.5B valuation round, quadrupling in a month.
Instinct communicates with users via SMS or phone calls, with no mobile app or dashboard. Users send natural-language requests and the agent handles travel planning, hotels and flights, restaurant reservations, subscription cancellation, research and shopping. The company does not disclose user data or growth metrics. Instinct says more than 50% of task volume is travel-related, highlighting the core consumer value of multi-step delegated tasks.
On the same day, Shinn announced on X that the Instinct agent can now join group chats including friends who do not have an Instinct account, covering travel coordination, event tickets, fantasy leagues, carpools and Thanksgiving planning. Each user's personal agent must request permission before connecting to the group agent, which is sandboxed from personal account data. The feature is live in early access via users' personal agents, with broader rollout in the coming weeks.