Why is Bill Gates’ daughter Phoebe Gates under scrutiny over Phia?

Bill Gates' daughter Phoebe Gates, 23, is currently under scrutiny due to accusations against her fashion-tech startup, Phia. Phoebe, who recently graduated from Stanford University, co-founded Phia with fellow Stanford graduate Sophia Kianni. Phia aims to assist online shoppers in finding deals and products by providing a digital shopping assistant.

The startup raised $30 million in 2025 from investors such as Hailey Bieber, Kris Jenner, and Sara Blakely. Phia operates through a browser extension, allowing shoppers to search for discount codes at checkout. When a customer uses a Phia coupon, Phia places a tracking "cookie" on the shopper's browser, which tells the retailer that Phia helped bring the customer to the sale.

This type of tracking is common in affiliate marketing, but the controversy arises because Phia allegedly placed these tracking cookies even when shoppers had not used Phia to find a coupon. This practice, known as "cookie stuffing," involves placing tracking cookies on a user's browser to claim credit for a sale the company did not genuinely drive.

Bloomberg reported that Phia was accused of misattributing sales at several major retailers, including Nike, Gap, and Nordstrom, making up most of the startup's reported revenue. The controversy became public in July, and Phia claimed they had removed the problematic features and were reviewing every transaction. However, it was later reported that Gates and Kianni had known about the issue for at least seven months.

While legal experts suggested that prison time was unlikely, the controversy has drawn significant attention due to Phoebe's family background and her entrepreneurial spirit.