In a recent interview, Phoebe Gates laid out how she is trying to build Phia as a stand-alone business, pushing back on assumptions that her family name is part of the product. That stance comes as investor demand has helped Phia scale quickly, with the app topping a half-million downloads in under six months while running with fewer than 10 full-time employees, as AI shopping startup funding continues to chase consumer-facing agents.
During the interaction, Gates shared how she is intentionally keeping her last name out of the pitch, even after raising $35 million and putting the company’s value at about $185 million. She told Yahoo Finance’s Opening Bid Unfiltered podcast, “no ties to my privilege or my last name,” describing a push to be judged on execution rather than inheritance.
Phoebe Gates Aims For Independence In Tech
Inside investor meetings, Gates and her cofounder Sophia Kianni have said they’ve faced questions that drift from product to personal life, including whether they might step away to have children. Gates recounted calling her mother after one such moment and hearing: “Get up or get out the game.”
How Phia Is Reshaping Online Shopping
Phia’s pitch centers on removing friction from buying online, using an AI agent that works through browsers like Chrome and Safari to scan pricing across retail and resale options. The tool is built to compare offers across a large range of stores and secondhand platforms in real time, turning a single product page into a broader price check.
Gates has framed the user as someone who wants to shop efficiently without doing endless tabs and manual searches. Last year, she told Fortune’s Emma Hinchliffe, “Our target consumer is a young woman who’s hustling. She shops like a genius, but she doesn’t want to waste her time doing it,” tying the product to consumer empowerment.
Operationally, the company has tried to move fast without getting big, with fewer than 10 full-time employees supporting an app that has surpassed a half-million downloads in less than six months. The team has also focused on user-driven upgrades, including real-time price-drop alerts and tools that factor in international shipping and tariff calculations.
Gates has also pointed to lessons from her father while still drawing a boundary between guidance and advantage. As reported by Fortune, she credited him with reinforcing how central hiring is to building a durable business, saying: “From my dad I’ve really learned that your team is the core of what you’re building. You can’t do anything without an incredible team.”
Insights Into Phia’s Ethical Shopping Vision
These insights into consumer behavior informed Phia’s development, which aims to streamline online shopping by leveraging smart data and creating a clean browser interface that simplifies the decision-making process. By focusing on speed, ethics, and personalization, Phia seeks to resonate with its target demographic and redefine how young women shop.
$35 Million Raised: Whats Next For Phia?
The company’s fundraising has been a key proof point as it tries to separate traction from pedigree, with Fortune describing a $35 million round led by Notable Capital and joined by Kleiner Perkins and Khosla Ventures. That deal followed an earlier $8 million seed round and helped establish Phia’s valuation near $185 million.
