Phia Secures $8 Million Seed Funding Led by Kleiner Perkins for AI Shopping Revolution

Phia Secures $8 Million in Seed Round to Transform Online Shopping

Phia, an innovative AI shopping agent, has successfully completed a seed funding round of $8 million, prominently led by the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins. Founded by Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni, Phia aims to revolutionize the way consumers shop online by leveraging artificial intelligence for smarter purchasing decisions.

Since its launch on April 2025, Phia has quickly gained popularity, amassing around 500,000 users and forming partnerships with over 5,000 brands. This swift growth highlights the demand for a more efficient and intelligent shopping experience. The AI-driven platform offers unique features like real-time price comparison, resale value calculations, comprehensive product detail summaries, and alerts for price drops on desired items. These capabilities are designed to save consumers time and money, addressing common frustrations associated with online shopping.

Phoebe Gates emphasized the urgency of innovation in the shopping sector, stating, “AI is reshaping nearly every industry, but shopping is stuck in the past.” This statement underscores the commitment of Phia to modernizing the shopping landscape, where consumers traditionally spend excessive time hunting for deals, often leading to overpayments.

Sophia Kianni, another co-founder, elaborated, “We started Phia to make it easy for consumers to find the best price on items they love and to create a new search engine for shopping that learns from user data at scale to deliver personalized results.” Phia's platform currently boasts billions of fashion products and continually ingests substantial data to enhance its offerings.

The company's approach to innovation does not stop here. The upcoming version of Phia will introduce a personalized shopping agent utilizing a proprietary large language model (LLM) trained on vast amounts of transaction data. This advancement aims to significantly improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of data interpretation in online shopping, boasting capabilities that outperform standard AI solutions.

“Our shopping agent will deliver tailored purchase suggestions based on individual tastes, budget, and shopping behaviors,” stated the team at Phia. This promise signifies a critical shift toward a more personalized shopping experience, fostering deeper connections between consumers and the brands they favor.

Michael Rubin, founder and CEO of Fanatics and an investor in Phia, expressed optimism regarding the company's future, commenting, “Phia is perfectly positioned to disrupt E-commerce with AI... I'm proud to help champion what they're building.” His endorsement reflects the potential Phia has to evolve the e-commerce space.

Following this funding round, Phia plans to expand its team, focusing on engineering talent, AI research, product development, and marketing strategies to scale its impact. This includes enhancing its models and GPU infrastructure to manage extensive data and entering new market verticals.

The company's emphasis on building a recognizable consumer brand and forming lasting partnerships will be crucial in amplifying Phia's market reach. With AI’s capabilities integrated into shopping tools, the future looks promising for both consumers and retailers alike.

About Phia

Founded by visionary entrepreneurs Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni, Phia is an AI-powered shopping agent based in New York City. Phia provides users with immediate access to the best deals across thousands of retail and resale websites, enhancing the efficiency of their shopping experiences. Their mission centers around combining cutting-edge technology with consumer-centric solutions to redefine how purchasing decisions are made. For more information, visit Phia.com.