Phoebe Gates is stepping confidently into the startup arena with Phia, her shopping technology venture. The New York-based company is now closing in on a fresh $30 million investment round that will push its valuation to $180 million, a major leap considering its first $8 million fundraise happened just months ago in September.
Phia has attracted a rare mix of consumer power and venture power. Investors include high-profile names such as Hailey Bieber, Kris Jenner, Sheryl Sandberg and Spanx founder Sara Blakey. Bill Gates has not invested personally, Phoebe told Vogue, though he has publicly supported the venture.
The new round will be led by Notable Capital under managing partner Hans Tung, known for early bets on companies like Anthropic and Airbnb. Kleiner Perkins and Khosla Ventures are also joining.
Fixes what feels broken in e-commerce
Consumers often spend hours sifting through endless choices online, comparing prices across tabs and scrolling through ads that aren’t relevant. Brands simultaneously struggle to show their products to the right audience. Phia positions itself as the bridge between the two.
The startup is building a smart shopping engine that works through an app and a browser extension for Chrome and Safari. It helps users discover products, spot better deals and compare prices quickly. In just eight months, 750,000 downloads have poured in.
Riding a wave of high-value automation startups
Gates, daughter of Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates, has created Phia with cofounder Sophia Kianni to tackle one of the internet’s most frustrating problems, which is the overwhelming and inefficient nature of online shopping.
The surge of agent-powered companies across industries has contributed to Phia’s rising valuation. In investor briefings, Phia drew parallels to Harvey in the legal space, Mercor in HR and Cursor in software development names commanding multi-billion-dollar valuations by offloading tedious digital tasks.
What makes Phia’s story more distinctive is its origin. Gates and Kianni began brainstorming startup ideas in their Stanford dorm room, at one point even considering a Bluetooth tampon, before recognising a larger opportunity in fashion and retail behaviour.
