The race to dominate AI-powered shopping is becoming one of the hottest battlegrounds in tech, and Phoebe Gates’ startup Phia has just secured one of the most attention-grabbing funding rounds of the year.
Phia, the artificial intelligence shopping platform co-founded by Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni, announced a $35.5 million Series A funding round that has attracted an unusually large roster of celebrity investors, influencers, fashion insiders and technology executives. The latest raise pushes the company’s total funding to $43.5 million and values the startup at approximately $185.5 million.
The new funding round was led by Notable Capital, Khosla Ventures and Kleiner Perkins, but much of the attention has centered on the celebrity names now attached to the company. New investors include influencer Alix Earle, reality television star Khloé Kardashian, actress Sydney Sweeney, entrepreneur Jessica Alba, socialite Paris Hilton, actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas, model Karlie Kloss and comedian Mindy Kaling, among dozens of others.
The investment wave highlights how AI commerce startups are increasingly blending Silicon Valley venture capital with celebrity-driven consumer marketing. Rather than relying solely on traditional investors, Phia appears to be building a network of cultural influencers who can help drive product adoption while simultaneously providing financial backing.
What separates Phia from traditional price-comparison services is its attempt to become a personalized shopping agent rather than simply a search tool. The company uses AI models to understand user preferences, shopping habits and style choices, allowing it to recommend products tailored to individual tastes while surfacing cheaper or more sustainable alternatives.
Investor enthusiasm appears to be tied to the startup’s rapid growth. According to the company, Phia has surpassed 1.5 million users and works with roughly 9,600 retail brand partners spanning contemporary fashion, luxury labels and resale marketplaces. Earlier company disclosures indicated that Phia had already crossed one million users within its first year while reporting significant revenue growth and increasing engagement from partner brands.
The startup’s rise also comes as AI shopping assistants become one of the fastest-growing segments in consumer technology. Major technology companies, e-commerce platforms and venture-backed startups are all racing to build tools capable of helping consumers discover products, compare prices and automate purchasing decisions.
Phia’s leadership argues that future shopping experiences will increasingly be mediated by AI agents that understand intent rather than simple keyword searches. The company has described its broader goal as becoming an AI alignment layer between brands and consumers, helping retailers better understand purchasing behavior while giving shoppers more personalized recommendations.
That vision has resonated with investors from both technology and entertainment circles. Alongside celebrity backers, the cap table includes notable figures from the tech world such as Robinhood co-founder Vladimir Tenev, Venmo founder Iqram Magdon-Ismail and OpenAI executive Charles Porch. Earlier rounds also attracted support from Kris Jenner, Hailey Bieber, Sara Blakely and former Meta executive Sheryl Sandberg.
Khloé Kardashian said her decision to invest was influenced by her mother Kris Jenner, who participated in an earlier funding round. Other celebrity investors have framed the startup as a combination of fashion technology, sustainability and female entrepreneurship, three themes that continue to attract strong investor interest.
Still, the flood of celebrity support has also raised questions about whether the company’s valuation is being driven primarily by influence rather than long-term fundamentals. Critics point out that the AI shopping market is becoming increasingly crowded, with startups and major tech firms all pursuing similar goals. The challenge for Phia will be proving that it can convert its cultural relevance into sustained user engagement, recurring revenue and defensible technology advantages.
For now, however, investor confidence remains strong. The startup has already earned recognition as one of TIME’s notable inventions and is positioning itself at the center of a growing convergence between artificial intelligence, social commerce, luxury fashion and influencer marketing.
With fresh capital, millions of users and one of the most celebrity-packed investor rosters in the startup ecosystem, Phia is rapidly becoming one of the most closely watched AI commerce companies in the market. Whether it ultimately reshapes how consumers shop online or becomes another example of hype-driven consumer tech will likely depend on what happens after the celebrity headlines fade.
