Bill Gates’ youngest daughter has recently achieved a significant milestone in funding for her AI-based shopping startup, positioning it as a leading player in a rapidly growing sector of the tech industry.
Phoebe Gates has secured $30 million for Fia, the AI shopping assistant she co-founded with her Stanford classmate, Sofia Chiani. A pitch deck reviewed by Bloomberg reported this new funding round.
A spokesperson for the company confirmed the funding, which values the New York-based startup at $180 million. This comes just months after Fia successfully raised $8 million in its initial seed funding in September.
The 23-year-old daughter of Bill and Melinda French Gates, who has expressed concerns about being labeled a “nepo baby,” has turned Fia into a magnet for investments and interest from notable figures in Silicon Valley.
The backing for Fia includes high-profile investors like Hailey Bieber, Kris Jenner, Sheryl Sandberg, and Spanx founder Sarah Blakely, which is quite remarkable for such a young startup.
Despite Bill Gates not being an investor, Phoebe mentioned in an interview with VOGUE that he has shown public support for the startup’s goals.
This latest funding round will be led by Notable Capital, managed by Hans Tung, who has a history of investing in firms like Anthropic and Airbnb. Kleiner Perkins and Khosla Ventures will also partake in this investment, based on details from the pitch deck cited by Bloomberg.
Fia aims to tackle issues in online shopping, claiming that many brands misplace their advertising efforts while consumers spend too much time hunting for the best deals.
The startup is developing an AI-driven search engine that will integrate with Chrome on desktop and Safari on mobile devices, allowing users to search for products, compare prices, and monitor live discounts from various retailers.
Fia reported that their tool was downloaded 750,000 times in just the past eight months leading up to November.
Phoebe and Sofia initially brainstormed their business idea during their time in a Stanford dormitory, pivoting from an initial concept focused on smart tampons to a project centered on fashion technology, ultimately leading to this AI shopping engine.
Investor enthusiasm for AI-driven solutions continues to rise, particularly for software that automates repetitive digital tasks.
Fia’s pitch compares its value to companies like Harvey in legal tech and other software firms like Cursor, which have considerably higher valuations.
For Phoebe Gates, being the daughter of a well-known billionaire adds pressure as she seeks to prove her entrepreneurial capabilities.
Her startup gains momentum following a whirlwind three years at Stanford, where she graduated in 2024 with a degree in human biology, furthering her interest in women’s health and global equity.
Phoebe is the youngest of Bill and Melinda Gates’ three children. The couple married in 1994 at Microsoft but divorced in 2021 after 27 years together.
Melinda’s departure from the Gates Foundation last May, post-divorce, included a notable financial settlement for her philanthropic work.
Bill Gates has often indicated he plans to leave a minimal amount of his wealth to his children, suggesting that giving them a significant inheritance wouldn’t necessarily be beneficial.
