Instinct Nears $2.5 Billion Valuation as VCs Chase $200 Million New Round
Updated
Updated · Forbes · Aug 27
Instinct Nears $2.5 Billion Valuation as VCs Chase $200 Million New Round
3 articles · Updated · Forbes · Aug 27
Summary
$2.5 billion is the valuation Instinct is seeking in talks for a fresh round of at least $200 million, just weeks after its value jumped from about $100 million.
VC demand has centered on Instinct's invite-only AI assistant, which can read texts and emails and carry out tasks such as booking flights and restaurant reservations through connected accounts.
Kleiner Perkins led a $75 million Series A in early August at more than $500 million, following earlier backing from Conviction and Greenoaks.
That rapid fundraising comes before a public launch and despite privacy and reliability concerns, including terms allowing broad data retention and user complaints about lingering email access and mistaken bookings.
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?