How Phia is Building the AI Alignment Layer for Commerce

Phia, the shopping agent launched by co-founders Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni in April 2025, announced its $35 million Series A at a $185 million valuation to build the AI alignment layer between brands and consumers, led by Notable Capital, with participation from Khosla Ventures and returning investor Kleiner Perkins.

Phia surpassed 1 million users and partnered with 6,200+ retail brands within 10 months of launch, representing billions in annual GMV. The platform drives millions in monthly sales, with 11× revenue growth and strong performance gains for brands, including higher conversion, stronger customer acquisition, increased AOV, and significantly lower returns. Phia’s AI shopping agent integrates into natural shopping workflows, while rapid user growth has been driven by organic founder-led marketing. Upcoming features include individualized rewards, taste-aware recommendations, and community-curated digital closets.

The funding will accelerate core AI capabilities powering a personalized shopping agent that ingests billions of products and processes millions of searches daily. High-performance ML infrastructure has reduced search latency by 80% and increased monetized GMV by 40%, with future plans for real-time LLM agents that personalize shopping experiences and predict consumer preferences. The team aims to build a category-defining AI commerce platform and expand talent to scale the mission.

Phia operates on a zero-dollar upfront, performance-based model to drive measurable results across the funnel and will expand partner offerings with real-time dashboards on audience behavior, trends, and category positioning. The platform aligns with consumer intent and transparent preferences to help brands acquire high-intent customers and build stronger relationships.

The evolution of AI in commerce reflects rising investor interest in consumer AI platforms, with Phia backed by notable investors including Hans Tung, Keith Rabois, and Annie Case. AI-mediated shopping is shifting focus from access to real-time understanding of intent, taste, and trust. With new funding, Phia will expand its team and brand network, leveraging owned distribution and proprietary insights to become an end-to-end shopping agent and discovery platform.