"Phia's team is locked in - literally. The startup is laser-focused on building an AI shopping agent, but also, after a snowstorm barreled through New York City, Phia founders Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni can't leave their respective apartments. So it's a rarity that when I chat with the former Stanford roommates and best friends, they are not together, nor are they in the Phia office."
"It's a quick turnaround. When I last spoke with Phia in October on the TechCrunch Disrupt stage, they were just one month removed from an $8 million round that included checks from celebrity investors like Kris Jenner, Sara Blakely, and Sheryl Sandberg. (Yes, Phoebe Gates is the daughter of Bill and Melinda; no, her parents are not bankrolling her startup.)"
Phia is a ten-month-old startup building an AI shopping agent that surfaces resale and second-hand alternatives to help shoppers save money. The product includes a mobile app and browser extension, with hundreds of thousands of monthly active users, 6,200 retail partners, and 11x revenue growth since launch. The company raised $35 million led by Notable Capital, with Khosla Ventures and Kleiner Perkins participating, following an earlier $8 million round backed by celebrity investors. Founders Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni emphasize a personalized, end-to-end commerce opportunity as the company scales amid remote-work and rapid growth.
Read at TechCrunch
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