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Phoebe Gates, co-founder of artificial intelligence shopping app Phia and daughter of Microsoft founder Bill Gates, just raised $30 million for the app she launched in her Stanford dorm room.<\/p>\n
Variety\/Variety via Getty Images<\/p>\n
Phoebe Gates, co-founder of artificial intelligence shopping app\u00a0Phia, speaks onstage at TechCrunch Disrupt at San Francisco’s\u00a0Moscone Center on Oct. 28. Gates, daughter of Microsoft founder Bill Gates, just raised $30 million for the app \u2014 with\u00a0Hailey Bieber and Kris Jenner on board.<\/p>\n
Kimberly White\/Getty Images for TechCrunch<\/p>\n
Phoebe Gates<\/a>, the youngest daughter of Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates, has secured $30 million in new funding for an artificial intelligence-powered shopping platform.<\/p>\n Phia<\/a>, a startup Gates co-founded with Stanford University classmate Sophia Kianni<\/a>, has quickly become a magnet for high-profile backers, drawing support from Hailey Bieber<\/a>, Kris Jenner, Meta\u2019s former Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg<\/a> and Spanx founder Sara Blakely.<\/p>\n The new round of funding \u2014 confirmed by a company spokesperson to Bloomberg<\/a> \u2014 values the New York-based firm at $180 million, a sharp jump from the $8 million Phia raised in September.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Gates and Kianni first began experimenting with generative AI in a Stanford class that pushed students to explore practical applications.\u00a0<\/p>\n Melinda French Gates, left, and daughter Phoebe Gates in September 2024. Phoebe, 23, just raised $30 million for her AI shopping app \u2014 with\u00a0Hailey Bieber and Kris Jenner on board.<\/p>\n John Lamparski\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n After briefly considering a concept for a \u201cBluetooth tampon,\u201d they shifted to a frustration they shared as roommates: the endless tabs, inconsistent prices and lack of transparency that define much of online shopping.<\/p>\n San Francisco Chronicle Logo<\/p>\n Make us a Preferred Source on Google to see more of us when you search.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Add Preferred Source<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n A $250,000 grant from a Stanford social entrepreneurship program helped them pursue the project full time and ultimately relocate to New York.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Gates told Elle<\/a> that when she first floated the idea to her parents, they urged her to keep it as a side project \u2014 advice she followed by enrolling in Stanford\u2019s night program after moving to New York and finishing her degree in 2024.<\/p>\n \u201cThey were like, \u2018Okay, you can do this as a side thing, but you need to stay in school.\u2019 I don\u2019t think people would expect that from my family, to be honest,\u201d she said. Her father dropped out of Harvard University in 1975 to launch Microsoft.\u00a0<\/p>\n Kianni even paused her degree temporarily \u201cto learn, as quickly as possible, as much as we could about the industry that we would be operating in,\u201d she told Vogue<\/a>.<\/p>\n Bill Gates<\/a> has not invested in the company, though he has\u00a0publicly supported<\/a> its mission.<\/p>\n Phia pitches itself as a fix for what it calls a broken online shopping experience, where customers \u201cwaste time looking for deals or particular items, while brands are targeting the wrong consumers.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Its AI-powered search engine \u2014 available as an app and as a browser extension for Chrome and Safari \u2014 pulls listings from more than 40,000 retail and resale sites so users can compare prices, surface real-time deals, and determine whether an item\u2019s cost is typical, high or fair.\u00a0<\/p>\n The tool has reached 750,000 downloads in eight months.<\/p>\n Gates told Elle she sees secondhand shopping as a key part of the platform\u2019s value.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are enough clothes on the planet for the next six generations,\u201d she said. \u201cWe don\u2019t need to buy new clothes. The rise in secondhand fashion is really exciting. We just need to make it a lot easier for consumers.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n At 23, Gates now leads a rapidly evolving product with fewer than a dozen full-time employees.\u00a0<\/p>\n She and Kianni say they aim to build a true end-to-end AI shopping assistant \u2014 one that can eventually anticipate users\u2019 needs and deliver personalized recommendations.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re building what we wish existed when we were in college,\u201d Gates told Vogue.<\/p>\n Beyond Phia, Gates said she hopes her success will allow her to invest in other women founders, noting that just 2% venture capitalist funding goes to women.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s criminal,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n