tech
'I have a chip on my shoulder.' Phoebe Gates wants her $185 million AI startup Phia to succeed with 'no ties to my privilege or my last name'
Phoebe Gates wants to build her AI shopping company while keeping one thing out of her pitch deck: her last name. The 23-year-old youngest daughter of billionaire Microsoft founder Bill Gates and philanthropist Melinda French Gates has raised more than $43 million for Phia, which is now valued at around $185 million.
TL;DR
- Phoebe Gates, daughter of Bill and Melinda Gates, is cofounder of the AI shopping app Phia.
- Phia has raised over $43 million and is valued at approximately $185 million.
- Gates is determined for Phia to succeed based on its own merit, without ties to her last name or privilege.
- Phia has been accused of 'cookie stuffing,' a practice where software injects referral codes during checkout to claim credit for sales it did not drive.
- The company claims that problematic features were removed on July 7 and that transaction reversals are being issued.
- Gates aims to prove herself and build a novel, unique company that consumers love.
- Phia is a browser extension that compares prices and finds deals across retail and resale sites in real-time.