Instinct Raises $250 Million in Series B at $2.5 Billion Valuation
Updated
Updated · TechCrunch · Aug 27
Instinct Raises $250 Million in Series B at $2.5 Billion Valuation
3 articles · Updated · TechCrunch · Aug 27
Summary
$250 million in new Series B funding lifted Instinct’s total capital to $350 million, giving the year-old AI startup a $2.5 billion valuation.
Index Ventures and Benchmark co-led the round as Instinct drew early enthusiasm for an AI assistant that connects to users’ apps and devices and works through texts and calls.
Noah Shinn, the 23-year-old founder behind Spear Street Technology, said users have already relied on the private-beta product for tasks from grocery shopping to wedding planning.
That rapid rise has also brought scrutiny: online users have raised privacy concerns over the app’s broad permissions and terms of use, highlighting a key risk as the company scales.
Will Instinct’s massive $2.5 billion valuation survive when consumers realize its perpetual data license tracks their every keystroke and screen capture?
Are users trading their most intimate digital secrets for the convenience of an AI that could be hijacked by a simple prompt?