In a recent interview, Instinct founder Noah Shinn shared contrarian views on personal AI assistants: they don't need standalone apps and can interact via SMS, WhatsApp, and email; a special data flywheel emerges, with ~40% of users willing to provide credit card info after about three weeks and ~80% retention after connecting sensitive data; AI assistants can form network effects; Instinct's annualized transaction volume exceeds $1 billion with just over 100,000 users; AI assistants could shift to a transaction commission model, with plans for one billion free users.
In a podcast interview, Noah Shinn said that over 50% of Instinct's transactions are travel-related, with annual transaction volume approaching $1 billion and daily growth of about 10%. He also said AI agents could frequently monitor restaurant websites and notify users of openings, as the company aims to reinvent the reservation experience and offer users preferential treatment — comments that sparked controversy.
AI assistant startup Instinct has raised $1 billion in Series C funding at a $10 billion valuation, with participation from Sequoia Capital, Benchmark Capital and Coatue, just one month after its previous round valued it at $2.5 billion.
Noah Shinn, founder of San Francisco-based AI startup Instinct, announced on X that its AI agent has added a calling feature, Instinct Concierge, which can book restaurants, handle bills and more. The feature is available in early access to some users and will gradually roll out to all users.