Phia, a fashion technology startup co-founded by Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni, has raised $8 million in seed funding with backing from high-profile investors including Hailey Bieber, Kris Jenner, Sheryl Sandberg, Spanx founder Sara Blakely, and Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin. The round was led by venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins.
Gates, the daughter of Bill and Melinda Gates, and Kianni, who co-host the podcast The Burnouts with Alex Cooper’s Unwell Network, are no strangers to celebrity circles. The pair previously interviewed Kris Jenner on the show, highlighting their influential connections.
Phia sits within a growing wave of startups aiming to shake up fashion through artificial intelligence, joining companies such as AI stylist Alta and AI shopping platform Daydream. Kianni explained: “I think there’s been so little innovation in the shopping space for so long because it seems like ‘well, that’s a hobby for girls.’ The reality is that the fashion industry is worth between $1.7 and $2.5 trillion.”
The two met as roommates at Stanford and developed Phia around the idea of a digital shopping assistant. The platform works as a price-comparison tool, similar to Google Flights, showing users whether an item is fairly priced. It pulls listings from platforms including Depop, Poshmark, The RealReal, Vestiaire Collective, and eBay, and calculates the median value.
Phia’s long-term vision is to evolve into a full shopping advisor, helping consumers decide not only whether to purchase but also considering resale value and wardrobe fit.
