Phia, the shopping startup co-founded by Bill Gates’ daughter Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni, has been accused of a practice known as “cookie stuffing,” which may have helped the product receive commissions and credit for sales it didn’t actually generate. according to a Bloomberg survey.
The report has sparked controversy and led to Phia’s suspension from Impact.coma leading partner and influencer platform. Other startups have been sued for “cookie stuffers,” notably Honey, which is owned by PayPal and remains the subject of an ongoing class action lawsuit.
Founded in 2025, Phia has raised more than $40 million in funding and has a star-studded list of investors, including Khloé Kardashian and Hailey Bieber. The startup developed an app as a browser extension that works somewhat like Google Flights, but for shopping. Phia helps customers find the lowest priced products at various retailers, as well as discount codes to use when shopping. The company receives a commission for purchases made through the platform, an industry practice known as affiliate marketing.
Bloomberg’s research, as well as findings from an independent consultant and a competitor, found that if a user shopped at an online retailer — even if they arrived at the site on their own or through another partner program like Wirecutter — Phia would open a new tab in the background. During the checkout process, Phia bypasses the referral codes from other affiliates and instead enters her own, allowing her to receive credit and possibly receive a commission for a purchase she did not earn.
Once the issue was flagged to Phia, a spokesperson told Bloomberg that all necessary changes had been made to fix the problem. A check by Bloomberg found that the issue had been resolved. It is unclear whether the fix is enough to satisfy the retailers and partners who work with Phia.
TechCrunch reached out to Phia for comment and did not receive a response.
This article has been updated to clarify the famous investors in the company.
