On Oct 14, YC-backed Instinct opened early access to a team of agents that monitors markets 24/7 for traders.
- Official
YC-backed Instinct opens early access to a team of agents that monitors markets 24/7 for traders
Instinct published this on Oct 14, 2026 (source: instinct.xyz).
Instinct, a five-person San Francisco startup listed by Y Combinator in its Winter 2026 batch, opened early access to a team of AI agents that scan thousands of markets, follow large positions and flag trades around the clock. Its claims of institutional-grade capability are the company's own and unverified, and details about its batch and product timing vary across sources.
Source: Instinct - Reported by TechCrunch
A roundup of AI agents that live in your text messages, per TechCrunch
Not confirmed by the company — reported on Oct 10, 2026 (source: techcrunch.com).
TechCrunch surveys notable AI agents you can text like a contact — including Instinct and others for families, travel, and work — that remember context, connect to calendars and messaging apps, and complete tasks without a separate app. Examples include Caddy in iMessage/RCS and Fambot for family coordination.
Source: TechCrunch - Reported by The Verge
Text-message AI agent Instinct holds its own against Muse and Dots in hands-on testing, per The Verge
Not confirmed by the company — reported on Oct 9, 2026 (source: theverge.com).
Instinct, a startup AI agent that launched in August invite-only with no marketing and became one of the most talked-about agents for its text-message interface and chores like booking DMV appointments, now faces similar agents Muse and Dots from far larger companies, The Verge reports. In the reviewer's testing, Instinct handled online tasks about as well as the two Big Tech rivals.
Source: The Verge - Reported by TechCrunch
Instinct brings its AI agent to group chats, including friends without accounts, per TechCrunch
Not confirmed by the company — reported on Oct 5, 2026 (source: techcrunch.com).
TechCrunch reports that Instinct is launching group chats where friends can use its AI agent together to plan trips, organize carpools and coordinate events. The company says personal accounts stay separate and agents need permission before sharing information or taking action.
Source: TechCrunch - Unconfirmed
Instinct founder says annualized transaction volume approaches $1 billion
Not verified by an official source as of Sep 29, 2026 (source: x.com).
Instinct founder Noah Shinn said the near-$1 billion annualized transaction volume is extrapolated from current transaction velocity, and that sensitive-credential linkage is being used as a measure of user trust.
Source: X @0xLogicrw