Phia's AI shopping assistant, founded by Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni, makes online shopping easy by finding the best prices and checking if items are eco-friendly. With a smart app that learns what people like, Phia helps save money and encourages buying secondhand to help the planet. Since launching, they have reached 500,000 users, raised $8 million, and partnered with over 5,000 brands. Popular with Gen Z, Phia shows how smart technology can make shopping both fun and responsible.

Phia's AI Shopping Assistant Reaches 500,000 Users, Raises $8M Seed

Phia Founders Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni on AI's Impact on Online Shopping took center stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, where the pair sketched a future of frictionless, data-rich retail. Their startup, Phia, promises a browser extension and mobile app that finds the best price, predicts resale value, and even checks sustainability credentials in seconds.

The company frames these tools as a first step toward agentic commerce, in which artificial intelligence conducts the search, comparison, and checkout so shoppers can simply approve or decline.

Hyper-Personalization Engine: How Phia Learns Every Click

Phia's AI assistant tracks preferences, past purchases, and browsing behavior to tailor recommendations with precision. The system searches more than 350 million items across 40,000 sites, including over 150 resale platforms, and flags alternatives that match a user's style, budget, and size. Price comparison runs continuously, surfacing savings that average 18 percent in internal tests.

Kianni highlighted a carbon counter that shows how choosing secondhand can cut emissions by up to 80 percent compared with new production, a figure the founders repeated on stage and in subsequent interviews. Early pilots suggest that shoppers exposed to the counter choose preloved options 26 percent more often.

Phia Founders Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni on AI's Impact on Online Shopping: Market Traction

Since an April 2025 public debut, Phia has amassed 500,000 users and integrated 5,200 brand partners. A seed round of 8 million dollars led by Kleiner Perkins funds the next wave of product features, including a sizing predictor now in closed beta. The founders say their return rate is under half the fashion industry norm, hinting that AI-driven fit and value signals reduce disappointment and waste.

A glance at core metrics shows why investors took notice:

• Affiliate revenue per active user rose 34 percent between Q2 and Q3 2025.
• Daily sessions per user average 4.3, reflecting habitual use.
• Conversion rates for items surfaced by the AI engine reach 12 percent, roughly double typical fashion e-commerce benchmarks.

Why Gen Z Cares: Sustainability, Value, and Convenience

Analysts expect AI shopping assistants to drive a 25 percent lift in e-commerce conversion rates by 2026, according to BCG. Phia positions itself at the intersection of that trend and Gen Z's emphasis on conscious consumption. The app assigns each listing a price score and an estimated resale value, helping users weigh long-term costs. During Disrupt, Gates noted that a luxury bag tagged at 500 dollars could retain 70 percent of its value a year later, while a fast-fashion item might lose 90 percent.

The founders also lean on community rather than paid ads. A campus ambassador network and a podcast amplify word of mouth, cutting acquisition costs and aligning with the generation that distrusts polished promotion. With rapid integration of one-click checkout planned for 2026, Phia aims to remove the final barrier between discovery and purchase.

Industry observers see this approach as proof that AI, far from replacing retail jobs, can elevate the shopping experience when paired with clear climate metrics and transparent pricing.

Phia Founders Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni on AI's Impact on Online Shopping took center stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, where the pair sketched a future of frictionless, data-rich retail. Their startup, Phia, promises a browser extension and mobile app that finds the best price, predicts resale value, and even checks sustainability credentials in seconds.

The company frames these tools as a first step toward agentic commerce, in which artificial intelligence conducts the search, comparison, and checkout so shoppers can simply approve or decline.

Hyper-Personalization Engine: How Phia Learns Every Click

Phia's AI assistant tracks preferences, past purchases, and browsing behavior to tailor recommendations with precision. The system searches more than 350 million items across 40,000 sites, including over 150 resale platforms, and flags alternatives that match a user's style, budget, and size. Price comparison runs continuously, surfacing savings that average 18 percent in internal tests.

Kianni highlighted a carbon counter that shows how choosing secondhand can cut emissions by up to 80 percent compared with new production, a figure the founders repeated on stage and in subsequent interviews. Early pilots suggest that shoppers exposed to the counter choose preloved options 26 percent more often.

Phia Founders Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni on AI's Impact on Online Shopping: Market Traction

Since an April 2025 public debut, Phia has amassed 500,000 users and integrated 5,200 brand partners. A seed round of 8 million dollars led by Kleiner Perkins funds the next wave of product features, including a sizing predictor now in closed beta. The founders say their return rate is under half the fashion industry norm, hinting that AI-driven fit and value signals reduce disappointment and waste.

A glance at core metrics shows why investors took notice:

• Affiliate revenue per active user rose 34 percent between Q2 and Q3 2025.
• Daily sessions per user average 4.3, reflecting habitual use.
• Conversion rates for items surfaced by the AI engine reach 12 percent, roughly double typical fashion e-commerce benchmarks.

Why Gen Z Cares: Sustainability, Value, and Convenience

Analysts expect AI shopping assistants to drive a 25 percent lift in e-commerce conversion rates by 2026, according to BCG. Phia positions itself at the intersection of that trend and Gen Z's emphasis on conscious consumption. The app assigns each listing a price score and an estimated resale value, helping users weigh long-term costs. During Disrupt, Gates noted that a luxury bag tagged at 500 dollars could retain 70 percent of its value a year later, while a fast-fashion item might lose 90 percent.

The founders also lean on community rather than paid ads. A campus ambassador network and a podcast amplify word of mouth, cutting acquisition costs and aligning with the generation that distrusts polished promotion. With rapid integration of one-click checkout planned for 2026, Phia aims to remove the final barrier between discovery and purchase.

Industry observers see this approach as proof that AI, far from replacing retail jobs, can elevate the shopping experience when paired with clear climate metrics and transparent pricing.