Phia, the AI-driven shopping startup cofounded by Phoebe Gates, has raised $30 million from investors that don't include her wealthy father, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.
The funding round puts the value of the company at $180 million, a rapid jump just months after its initial $8 million seed raise, according to Bloomberg.
The round was led by Notable Capital under Managing Partner Hans Tung, with participation from top-tier venture capital firms Kleiner Perkins and Khosla Ventures.
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Celebrity backers include model Hailey Bieber, media personality Kris Jenner, former Meta Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg and Spanx founder Sara Blakely.
Phia, co-founded with Stanford University classmate Sophia Kianni, developed an AI shopping agent designed to simplify the online buying experience.
It's positioning itself as the AI solution to the "chaos of online shopping" by building an AI-powered search engine that allows users to compare prices, track discounts and search for products across various retailers and resale platforms.
The tool is surfing a wave of investor enthusiasm for AI agents — software programs designed to automate repetitive digital tasks, according to the New York Post.
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Gates and Kianni told Vogue that the Phia app, which they started in their dorm room, has reached more than a half-million downloads in less than six months.
Despite operating with a lean team of fewer than 10 full–time employees, the Phia team has prioritized integrating features requested by users, including real-time price drop alerts and international shipping and tariff calculations.
While price comparison remains foundational, the long-term vision for Phia is to evolve beyond simple savings into an end-to-end shopping assistant.
"We really want to build an AI shopping assistant that's able to answer the question, ‘Should I buy this?' for every single person with true personalization," Gates told Vogue.
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