Phoebe Gates has been adamant about not wanting to rely on the legacy and largesse of her father to legitimize Phia, the A.I.-powered shopping startup that she co-founded with her Stanford roommate turned influencer Sophia Kianni in 2023. Of course, that’s wistful posturing when your father is Bill Gates, the godfather of the modern software business and a mega-philanthropic centibillionaire. And also, well, it’s B.S. In January, Phia raised $35 million from Notable Capital, an early backer of Quince; Khosla Ventures; Kleiner Perkins; and a roster of celebrity investors including Hailey Bieber, Karlie Kloss, Sydney Sweeney, Ice Spice, Rachel Zoe, and Mindy Kaling. Few first-time tech founders announce their startup via a profile in The New York Times. And Gates’s surname surely helped while Bieber and other photogenic celebrities promoted the company on social media.