Phia Raises $35M to Reinvent AI Shopping
Phia has raised $35 million in fresh funding to build an AI shopping agent designed to transform how people discover and buy products online. Founded by Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni, the ten-month-old startup aims to solve e-commerce fatigue by delivering hyper-personalized recommendations without endless scrolling. With hundreds of thousands of monthly active users already onboard, Phia believes artificial intelligence can finally make digital shopping feel intuitive, efficient, and even fun again—addressing a pain point millions of consumers face daily.
Credit: Timothy O'Donnell / Phia
Why Shopping Feels Broken—and How AI Can Fix It
For decades, online shopping has relied on the same basic formula: search bars, category filters, and algorithmic feeds that prioritize engagement over satisfaction. The result? Decision fatigue, irrelevant suggestions, and a sense of disconnection from the joy of discovery. Phia’s founders argue that commerce technology hasn’t meaningfully evolved in 30 years—while consumer expectations have skyrocketed.
“We are at such a prime moment of opportunity,” Gates explains. “The infrastructure for truly personalized, end-to-end shopping experiences exists today in a way it never has before.” By leveraging large language models and behavioral data, Phia’s agent learns individual preferences across categories—from sustainable activewear to ergonomic office gear—then proactively surfaces options that align with a user’s taste, values, and lifestyle. No more digging through 50 near-identical products. No more generic “you might also like” prompts. Just thoughtful curation powered by AI that actually understands you.
The Founders: Unlikely Allies in Commerce Innovation
Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni met as Stanford roommates and quickly bonded over shared ambitions beyond their famous family ties. Gates—daughter of Bill and Melinda Gates—brings sharp product instincts and a deep understanding of systems-level thinking. Kianni, a recognized climate activist who addressed the United Nations at 17, contributes a user-first ethos shaped by years of grassroots organizing.
Their partnership defies easy categorization. Neither comes from a traditional retail background, which they consider an advantage. “Sometimes you need outsiders to see what insiders have normalized,” Kianni notes. “We looked at shopping apps and asked, ‘Why does this feel so transactional? Where’s the delight?’” That question became Phia’s north star. The duo bootstrapped early prototypes before securing an $8 million seed round last fall, attracting backing from influential operators who believed in their vision for emotionally intelligent commerce.
From $8M to $35M: Rapid Traction Fuels Investor Confidence
Phia’s new $35 million Series A, led by Notable Capital with participation from Khosla Ventures and Kleiner Perkins, arrives just months after its initial seed funding. The accelerated timeline signals strong market validation. While many AI startups struggle to move beyond chatbot gimmicks, Phia has quietly built a product users return to weekly.
The startup now counts hundreds of thousands of monthly active users—a meaningful metric in an era where AI tools often see sharp drop-offs after initial curiosity wears off. Early adopters praise the agent’s ability to remember nuanced preferences: one user mentioned Phia consistently recommending wool-blend sweaters after a single offhand comment about scratchy fabrics months prior. Another highlighted how the agent learned their budget constraints and stopped suggesting luxury items outside their range. These small moments of recognition build trust—a critical ingredient for any shopping platform aiming to handle real purchasing decisions.
Beyond Recommendations: The Vision for End-to-End Shopping
Phia isn’t building another discovery feed. The team is engineering a full-service shopping agent that guides users from inspiration to checkout—and beyond. Imagine describing a need (“I want rain boots that work for city walking but look stylish enough for weekend brunch”) and receiving three vetted options with transparent pricing, sustainability credentials, and real user reviews synthesized into plain English.
Future iterations will handle price tracking, size conversions across international brands, and even post-purchase support like return coordination. “Shopping shouldn’t end when you click ‘buy,’” Gates says. “The relationship with a product—and the brand—continues. Our agent stays with you through that entire journey.” This end-to-end approach positions Phia less as a retailer and more as a personal commerce companion, blurring the lines between assistant, curator, and advocate.
Navigating the Celebrity-Founder Narrative
As the daughter of one of the world’s most famous philanthropists, Gates faces inevitable scrutiny about her startup’s independence. She addresses it directly: her parents are not investors in Phia, nor do they advise the company. Funding comes exclusively from institutional VCs and angel investors who evaluated the product on its merits.
Kianni adds that their team actively works to shift focus from pedigrees to product. “We want people to judge us by what we build—not who our families are,” she says. That mindset permeates company culture. During a recent snowstorm that stranded both founders in their New York apartments, the Phia team still showed up—literally and figuratively—sending Slack updates from the office as snow piled on the porch. That grit, they believe, speaks louder than any headline about famous last names.
The Bigger Bet: AI That Understands Human Values
What separates Phia from other AI shopping tools is its emphasis on values-based matching. The agent doesn’t just learn that you prefer linen shirts—it discerns why. Is it for breathability in humid climates? A commitment to natural fibers? Support for small-batch makers? By connecting preferences to underlying motivations, Phia delivers recommendations that feel meaningfully aligned with a user’s identity.
This approach resonates particularly with Gen Z and millennial shoppers who increasingly weigh ethics alongside aesthetics. In an era where 66% of consumers consider sustainability before purchasing, an agent that filters for carbon-neutral shipping or fair labor practices without being asked becomes indispensable. Phia’s technology turns abstract values into actionable filters—making conscious consumption effortless rather than exhausting.
What’s Next for the AI Commerce Revolution
With fresh capital secured, Phia plans to expand its team—particularly in machine learning and trust/safety engineering—and deepen integrations with payment and logistics partners to enable seamless checkout. The founders remain tight-lipped about specific launch timelines but confirm that conversational commerce features (think voice-guided shopping sessions) are in active development.
More importantly, they’re doubling down on what users already love: an agent that feels less like a tool and more like a knowledgeable friend who just gets you. In a digital landscape crowded with attention-hungry algorithms, that human-centered approach might be Phia’s most disruptive innovation yet. As Kianni puts it: “We’re not trying to keep people on our app longer. We’re trying to get them what they need—faster, smarter, and with a smile.”
For an industry long overdue for reinvention, that simple promise might be exactly what shoppers have been waiting for.
