TechCrunch, citing The Wall Street Journal, reported that AI assistant startup Instinct raised $250 million in a Series B round co-led by Index Ventures and Benchmark. The round brought total funding to $350 million and valued the business at $2.5 billion. Founder Noah Shinn leads the product, offered by Spear Street Technology. Instinct connects to users’ applications and devices and accepts requests through texts and calls. The report noted enthusiasm among early users alongside privacy concerns about permissions and terms of use during its private beta.