Noah Sheen, the founder of San Francisco-based artificial intelligence assistant company Instinct, revealed on August 26 that the firm is in the process of securing $250 million in a Series B funding round at a $2.5 billion valuation, with Index Ventures and Benchmark acting as co-lead investors.
According to Sheen, the company has accumulated roughly $350 million in total funding since its establishment in 2025, counting this round. Additional backers include Conviction Partners and Greenoaks. The product is operated under Spear Street Technology and remains in an invitation-only beta testing phase that launched in February, with no public pricing page available.
Multiple media outlets have reported the same set of figures. Other reports indicate that in early August, Kleiner Perkins' Mamon Hamid led a $75 million Series A round at a valuation exceeding $500 million, with the Series B still under negotiation at that time and expected to be "at least $200 million." The discrepancy between the two accounts lies in one side claiming a finalized $250 million round with co-lead investors, while the other suggests the round is still being discussed at a minimum of $200 million. Public filings do not yet show a completed transaction date.
From $100 Million to $2.5 Billion: A Rapidly Escalating Valuation Ladder
According to media reports, Instinct's valuation has climbed from approximately $100 million to over $2.5 billion within just a few weeks. Pranav Reddy of Conviction participated in an early round valued at roughly $50 million, while Neil Mehta of Greenoaks was also an early investor. The Series A in early August was priced above $500 million, followed by Index and Benchmark setting the valuation at $2.5 billion. The product remains accessible only through internal invitations within the venture capital community.
In a social media post on August 26, Sheen noted that early users have leveraged the platform for planning cross-state road trips, purchasing weekly groceries and concert tickets, canceling subscriptions worth hundreds of dollars, and even organizing weddings.
Product Design: Text and Voice Interaction Instead of a Standalone Interface
Sheen, now 23 years old, dropped out of Northeastern University in 2023 and previously worked at Sierra, the customer service AI company founded by Bret Taylor. California corporate records show Spear Street Technology was registered in April 2026.
The website describes Instinct as "a personal assistant that understands what you're doing and what matters to you." Users issue commands via phone calls or text messages, and after connecting their email, calendar, location, and other applications, the assistant can respond to emails, manage schedules, arrange rides to the airport, and book repair services. Early users have mentioned using it to purchase home insurance, order wedding accessories, and some have even bought homes or found leases through the platform.
Sheen describes the service as capable of "almost everything," adding that it's "almost like hiring a superhuman operator." Similar products include work-oriented versions of ChatGPT and Grok Bot, which can handle personal tasks. Silicon Valley has long attempted to build personal secretaries using AI models, though most projects have failed to scale. Instinct distinguishes itself by confining interaction to text messages and phone calls rather than creating yet another standalone interface.
Permissions and Training Terms: Users Must Surrender Extensive Data
To utilize the full functionality, users must grant access to their email, messages, location, and even screen and audio data. The terms of service permit the company to use user data for training its models. Revised terms now allow users to opt out of future training and request deletion of indexed data. However, disconnecting app integrations does not automatically purge stored content, and opting out of training only applies going forward.
Early users have already raised security and privacy concerns. Sheen stated that the company iterates quickly and takes these concerns seriously. The product has added restrictions to prevent the agent from executing certain actions that appeared in earlier versions. In a separate statement, he said the funding reflects early users' enthusiasm for an assistant that is "proactive, always-on, extremely capable, has full context of your life, and is always trying to help."
Outstanding Questions: No Timeline for Public Launch
No timetable has been provided for the beta access, training terms, or the public launch date. The $2.5 billion valuation corresponds to an invitation-only product and the founder's narrative, not disclosed recurring revenue. The next round of information will depend on whether closing documents are made public and when the product opens up to non-investors.