Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Phia co-founders Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni pushed for features in the e-commerce startup's software that took credit for sales it didn't drive, according to internal communications and people with knowledge of the matter. #technology #business #news #usa
The founders were aware of the practice for at least seven months, which is contrary to the company's public remarks that it had only become aware of the situation "within the last 24 hours".
Phia's browser extension was designed to report that the startup drove a sale even when its product was never used, resulting in increased commissions, and the company has started to pay back some commissions to retailers and has suspended its monetization efforts.
Read more: bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-08-11/phia-app-co-founders-pushed-for-features-taking-credit-for-sales-it-didn-t-drive
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Phia co-founders Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni pushed for features in the e-commerce startup's software that took credit for sales it didn't drive, according to internal communications and people with knowledge of the matter. #technology #business #news #usa
The founders were aware of the practice for at least seven months, which is contrary to the company's public remarks that it had only become aware of the situation "within the last 24 hours".
Phia's browser extension was designed to report that the startup drove a sale even when its product was never used, resulting in increased commissions, and the company has started to pay back some commissions to retailers and has suspended its monetization efforts.
Read more: bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-08-11/phia-app-co-founders-pushed-for-features-taking-credit-for-sales-it-didn-t-drive
----------
Like this video? Subscribe youtube.com/@Bloomberg-News
Bloomberg News is the first word in business news. Visit bloomberg.com for the latest on global business, markets and more.
Get unlimited access to Bloomberg.com for $1.99/month for the first 3 months: bloomberg.com/subscriptions?in_source=YoutubeOriginals
Bloomberg on YouTube:
youtube.com/@business
youtube.com/@markets
youtube.com/@BloombergTechnology
youtube.com/@BloombergPodcasts
Connect with us on social:
instagram.com/bloombergbusiness
linkedin.com/company/bloomberg-news
tiktok.com/@bloombergbusiness
facebook.com/bloombergbusiness
