“We are just at such a prime time of opportunity,” Gates said to explain the new fundraise. “Commerce itself for the consumer hasn’t really been adapted in the last 30 years, and the opportunity to make a truly personalized, end-to-end shopping experience is today.”

Phia, an AI shopping startup co-founded by Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni, has raised $35 million at a $185 million valuation from Notable Capital, with participation from Khosla Ventures and Kleiner Perkins. Founded in April last year, the company has already reached one million users and partnered with 6,200 brands whilst achieving 11-times revenue growth. The platform uses an AI shopping agent that matches customer intent with products in real time, processing billions of products and millions of searches daily. Phia claims its technology delivers recommendations 80 per cent faster and increases gross merchandise value by 40 per cent, whilst driving 13 per cent more conversions and 50 per cent fewer returns for brands. The funding will support hiring, AI development and new partner dashboards as Phia expands into luxury and contemporary brands.

Phoebe Gates gets $30 million for Phia, that made father Bill Gates say: when your daughter asks if you'd be willing to work a shift in... Phoebe Gates' artificial intelligence shopping startup, Phia, has raised $30 million in new funding. This investment values the company at $180 million. Bill Gates, Phoebe's father, has supported the venture with his time and experience. Phia aims to make online shopping smarter and more sustainable. The app offers price comparisons, discounts, and secondhand options. Microsoft founder Bill Gates 'daughter Phoebe Gates has raised $30 million funding for her artificial intelligence (AI) shopping startup, Phia. The new funding values the company at $180 million. However, Phoebe Gates' father has yet to invested in the venture. Instead, the Bill Gates donated his time and experience to her daughter's startup. Earlier this year, the tech billionaire took to professional networking site LinkedIn to announce that he was doing a customer service shift to support the team in the days following the launch of the app. He said when a daughter asks for help at her startup, the only right answer is yes. In his LinkedIn post, Bill Gates shared a short clip offering a glimpse of his shift working in the customer service department of his daughter's app. He wrote: "I've entered the startup world again...When your daughter asks if you'd be willing to work a shift in customer service at her startup, the only right answer is yes. I've spent a lot of time thinking about how technology can make systems more efficient, equitable, and accessible. But I've learned over the years that the best way to understand how something works, or where it breaks, is to go straight to the people using it. That's why I'll be joining the Phia customer experience team for a day this week. Phia is a fashion-tech tool built to make shopping smarter and more sustainable, and it's the brainchild of my daughter Phoebe Gates and her co-founder Sophia Kianni. They've built an app and browser extension that helps people shop smarter by finding the best prices, surfacing secondhand options, and showing lower-impact alternatives across thousands of online retailers. It's been inspiring to watch them tackle a massive challenge, rethinking the way we shop, by meeting users where they are. And now, I'll be doing the same. Looking forward to getting back into the startup scene. Hopefully, I won't break anything (no promises). Download the Phia iOS app for free at join.phia.com Or if you shop on your computer like me, they have a free chrome extension at gophia.com Let me know what you think! You never know who's on the other end of the customer service line..." How the latest funding round will help Phoebe Gates Phia app. The latest round of funding is a massive leap in value for Phoebe Gates' startup, coming just months after the New York-based company finished its first fundraising round. It's making the startup one of the most-watched companies in the booming AI market. The company has attracted a long list of famous backers. According to a pitch deck viewed by Bloomberg, investors include Hailey Bieber, Kris Jenner, Sheryl Sandberg, and Spanx founder Sara Blakely. Phia has been designed to serve as an intelligent shopping assistant. As a computer and mobile phone browser extension, this tool searches for products, price comparisons, and real-time discounts to aid users in their buying decisions. Second-hand options are also highlighted to further assist people in shopping more 'green'. According to the company, this tool is the answer to the chaos of modern online shopping. The new financial round is being led by major investment firms, including Notable Capital, Kleiner Perkins, and Khosla Ventures; investors with a history of supporting giants in the tech sector, such as Airbnb. The app is growing at a rapid pace. Phia says it was downloaded 750,000 times in just eight months. The idea by Phoebe Gates and her co-founder Sophia Kianni was born while living in a Stanford dorm room; the initial plans were to make a smart tampon but later changed to fashion technology. The TOI Tech Desk is a dedicated team of journalists committed to delivering the latest and most relevant news from the world of technology to readers of The Times of India. TOI Tech Desk's news coverage spans a wide spectrum across gadget launches, gadget reviews, trends, in-depth analysis, exclusive reports and breaking stories that impact technology and the digital universe. Be it how-tos or the latest happenings in AI, cybersecurity, personal gadgets, platforms like WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and more; TOI Tech Desk brings the news with accuracy and authenticity.