Phoebe Gates' effort to build Phia without leaning on the Gates name has collided with a Bloomberg investigation into the AI shopping startup's affiliate practices. Phia and cofounder Sophia Kianni pushed software features that took credit for sales the company did not drive, a tactic known as cookie stuffing, Bloomberg reported this week, adding that the company had known about the issue for seven months after saying in July it had been aware of it for only 24 hours. Tests across more than 50 websites that Bloomberg conducted with Capital One Shopping and independent researcher Ben Edelman found Phia's browser extension silently opened a background tab at checkout and inserted its own referral code, overriding legitimate publisher referrals in violation of many affiliate networks' policies. A Phia spokesperson said any features causing misattributions were removed on July 7, every transaction was being reviewed, reversals for brand partners had already begun and the company was hiring a head of compliance. The scrutiny lands as the New York-based startup, founded by Gates and her Stanford University roommate Sophia Kianni, scales quickly after raising more than $43 million, including a $35 million round led by Notable Capital that valued Phia at about $185 million. Gates has said she wants the venture to stand on merit rather than inheritance, even as some investors have focused on her personal life and attention has resurfaced around Bill Gates' connections to Jeffrey Epstein; his representatives have repeatedly denied his involvement and any related accusations.