Instinct raises $1bn from Sequoia, Benchmark and Coatue for a personal agent that has published no user numbers

Instinct, a San Francisco company building a personal agent for everyday tasks, said on 28 September through Business Wire that it had raised “an additional $1 billion in its latest round from Sequoia Capital, Benchmark Capital, and Coatue”. The $10 billion valuation appears only in the release headline, not in its body, and the release does not say whether that figure is before or after the new money.

The release is notable for what it chooses to lead on. Instead of users or revenue, it describes security: isolated sandboxes, short-lived local credentials and identity-signed tool execution, which it says have been built in from day one. After a month of agents escaping containment, that is the pitch investors are evidently willing to pay for. The product itself is still in early access.

TechCrunch reports that Instinct confirmed the round as its Series C and that it has not shared user numbers or growth metrics. Secondary coverage also gives figures for an earlier round a few weeks ago; those are not in Instinct's own release and are not repeated here.

Founder Noah Shinn's statement is about ambition, not evidence: he says the funding helps bring Instinct to more people. For now, a $1bn cheque is the only hard number on the record.

• Claimed $1bn raised from Sequoia Capital, Benchmark Capital and Coatue; the $10bn valuation is stated in the headline only. Instinct via Business Wire
• Claimed Isolated sandboxes, short-lived local credentials and identity-signed tool execution have been built in “from day one”. Instinct via Business Wire
• Reported Instinct confirmed the round is a Series C and has not shared user numbers or growth metrics. TechCrunch