Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni are currently raising $30 million for Phia, the AI-driven online shopping platform they launched in 2023. If the round closes, it will be the company’s second, following an $8 million raise in September, and would value the business at $180 million.
Phia uses artificial intelligence to help shoppers find the lowest prices for clothing and fashion items, including second-hand options. Although neither Bill Gates nor Melinda French Gates has invested, the startup has attracted an array of high-profile backers. Among them are Hailey Bieber, Kris Jenner, Sheryl Sandberg, Spanx founder Sara Blakey, Fanatics founder Michael Rubin, and former Project Runway executive producer Desiree Gruber.
The latest round is being led by venture capital firm Notable Capital, with managing partner Hans Tung, an investor in Anthropic and Airbnb, heading the firm’s involvement. Kleiner Perkins and Khosla Ventures are also participating, according to Bloomberg.
Gates and Kianni first connected as roommates at Stanford University. Beyond running Phia, they co-host The Burnouts, a podcast on Alex Cooper’s Unwell Network that details their journey as founders and the challenges they and other entrepreneurs face. The podcast also acts as a promotional channel for the startup.
Phia has expanded rapidly since the pair began developing the concept in their Stanford dorm room. The platform now has more than 500,000 users and works with over 5,000 brands. The two initially pursued a very different idea — a Bluetooth tampon that could track hormone levels — after taking an AI class focused on entrepreneurship. They later pivoted to fashion after discussing their frustrations with online shopping, particularly the impact of fast fashion and difficulties in comparing prices.
“We started thinking about the intersection of AI and shopping and how shopping hasn’t changed in the last decade or more,” Kianni said on their podcast. “AI presented this opportunity to change it and make it easier to find better deals, especially second-hand deals.”
A $250,000 grant from a Stanford social entrepreneurship programme and $100,000 from Soma Capital encouraged them to shift their operations from California to New York, where the business began to scale. They went on to secure $500,000 from angel investors after experiencing a series of rejections.
Alongside helping shoppers save money, the startup also reflects the environmental interests of its founders. Phia’s website highlights that enough clothing currently exists to dress the next six generations of humanity and that the global clothing industry produces 1.6 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually. Purchasing second-hand items, the company notes, reduces the carbon footprint of a garment by 73 per cent.
In addition to its app and website, Phia is developing a browser plug-in for Chrome and Safari, enabling users to search for discounts through an AI-powered tool. The extension has been downloaded more than 750,000 times over the eight months leading up to November.
