‘I have a chip on my shoulder.’ Phoebe Gates wants her $185 million AI startup Phia to succeed with ‘no ties to my privilege or my last name’

While Phoebe Gates wants to launch her artificial intelligence shopping company, she also wants to leave one thing out of her pitch: her last name. The billionaire’s youngest daughter, 23 years old Microsoft Founder Bill Gates and philanthropist Melinda French Gates recently raised $35 million for Phia. This donation is currently worth approximately $185 million.

But Phoebe Gates said she was determined that the initiative should stand on its own “without any ties to my privilege or my family name.” yahoo Finance‘s Unfiltered Opening Offer on a podcast section It was published on Thursday.

“I have a chip on my shoulder,” he said, describing his effort to prove he could win private capital in Silicon Valley based on merit, not inheritance or inheritance.

Phoebe Gates’ comments come amid the resurgence of her father’s connections to Jeffrey Epstein, although Bill Gates’ representatives have repeatedly denied his involvement and related accusations. Phoebe Gates has not commented on the allegations, but French Gates recently called out her ex-husband, “have to answer” The Epstein files are mentioned just weeks after it was revealed he had received 8 billion dollars to the charity Pivotal, as part of its divorce agreement.

Phoebe Gates credited her father’s business success with these words: “I truly learned from my father that your team is the foundation of what you build. You can’t do anything without an incredible team.”

Phoebe Gates co-founded PhiaAn artificially intelligent shopping assistant with her Stanford University roommate Sophia Kianni. The shopping assistant connects to browsers like Chrome and Safari to compare prices and show deals on tens of thousands of retail and resale sites in real time. It basically serves as your own personal deal finder: Let’s say you’re looking at a $200 dress from Anthropologie, Phia can find second-hand sellers and compare prices to help customers find a better price.

“Our target consumer is a young woman on the run. She shops like a genius but doesn’t want to waste her time doing it,” Gates said. LuckMost Powerful Women editor Emma Hinchliffe in April 2025.

The New York-based startup launched its app in 2025 and has grown rapidly; gained hundreds of thousands of downloads in its first months as investors turned to AI “agents” that automate digital tasks. A. Latest $35 million funding round led by Notable CapitalWith participation from firms including Kleiner Perkins and Khosla Ventures, Phia’s valuation has been reduced by approximately $185 million from less than a year after its $8 million seed round.

Gates and Kianni first brainstormed startup ideas in their Stanford dorm room, before bouncing between concepts until they landed on a consumer vehicle that incorporated Gates’ interest in women’s empowerment (she likely modeled it on her own mother) and Kianni’s focus on sustainability.

In line with Gates’ insistence on starting his own startup without the benefits of his surname, the young founder did not receive money from his family for Phia. Instead, he insisted on raising outside capital, even though some investors focused on his personal life rather than his business venture.

Gates and Kianni have previously said that the subject of their potential future children had come up in meetings, and that it was understandably frustrating for the entrepreneurial duo. However, women’s rights activist French Gates was a bit harsh on Gates. recommendation: “Get up or get out of the game.”

“Investors keep asking us, ‘So what happens when you two have a baby?’ he will ask. And I remember crying about it once. I called my mom and she said, ‘Get up or get out of the game, bro.’ I said, ‘Damn it,'” Gates said. section between Call His Father Podcast released in April 2025.

This has now become a phrase Gates reminds himself of while meeting with investors and trying to debunk accusations of a Nepo baby. Gates argues that this is no ordinary project.

“The chip on my shoulder is to not only prove myself, but to build something new and unique that consumers really love,” he said.

This story first appeared on: Fortune.com