StartupFox
Instinct, a viral personal AI assistant startup, has raised $250 million in a Series B funding round co-led by Index Ventures and Benchmark at a $2.5 billion valuation. Founder Noah Shinn disclosed the round to the Wall Street Journal on 26 August 2026, and it takes the company's total funding to $350 million.
The startup is operated by Spear Street Technology, a San Francisco company that Shinn, a 23-year-old former research scientist at the AI firm Sierra, registered in California in April 2026. Instinct remains in private, invite-only beta and is not available to the public.
The pace of the fundraising is the most striking feature of the round. According to Forbes, Instinct's valuation climbed from about $50 million to $2.5 billion in roughly four months, before the product had publicly launched. An early backing from Conviction and Greenoaks valued the company at around $50 million; in early August, Kleiner Perkins partner Mamoon Hamid led a $75 million Series A at a valuation above $500 million; and roughly three weeks later, Benchmark and Index Ventures priced it at five times that.
- $250 millionSeries B raised
- $2.5 billionValuation
- $350 millionTotal funding to date
StartupFox
4 reports filed for Friday 28 August 2026, compiled from company statements, registry filings and StartupFox reporting. Figures marked reported were not confirmed by the companies named.
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