Phoebe Gates, daughter of Bill Gates, has launched a new artificial-intelligence-driven fashion-e-commerce startup called Phia, which recently secured USD 8 million in seed funding. The round attracted celebrity backers including Hailey Bieber and Kris Jenner, highlighting the startup’s high-profile launch despite the fact that Bill Gates did not directly invest. 36Kr

Phia is positioning itself as a next-generation shopping assistant, allowing users to instantly compare prices of new and pre-owned items across multiple platforms. The app is built around a simple “Should I buy this?” button: when users browse a product, Phia scans thousands of retail channels and resale marketplaces, evaluates pricing, and provides a verdict and recommendation. The platform currently supports more than 250 million products via its direct links to platforms such as The RealReal, Vestiaire Collective, ThredUp, StockX and more.

Startup Origins and Team

The company was co-founded by Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni, who met while studying at Stanford University. The duo transitioned their dormitory-startup experiment into a formal business in 2023 when they established Phia in New York. The name “Phia” is a fusion of their first names Phoebe plus Sophia. Less than half a year after launching publicly, Phia claims to have amassed over 600,000 users. Many of its engineering and product staff are former employees of major tech firms such as Pinterest, Meta and Amazon.

AI and E-Commerce Convergence

Phia’s ambition taps into a broader theme: the convergence of artificial intelligence and e-commerce. While global online retail has grown more than ten-fold since 2010, from around USD 0.6 trillion to approximately USD 6.4 trillion by 2025, the core user journey in e-commerce has remained largely unchanged — browse, compare, buy, receive. Phia argues that the discovery and decision stages are ripe for reinvention via AI. 36Kr

According to Phia’s public materials, its algorithm interprets browsing patterns in real time, gathers pricing and availability data from thousands of listings, and makes recommendations that factor both brand-new and resale options. For fashion-heavy users, this means the decision-making process is compressed from hours of manual research to a single tap.

Funding and Traction

The USD 8 million seed-round backing validates both the celebrity interest and the perceived market opportunity. Despite being led by a relatively unknown startup, the impressive user-growth rate and celebrity involvement have attracted attention. Phia’s early data indicates more than 40,000 partner websites and over 5,000 direct brand integrations. The emphasis on resale as well as new items positions it in a hybrid category aligning with sustainability and circular-economy trends. 36Kr

Competitive Landscape and Market Opportunity

Phia joins a crowded field of fashion-tech and shopping-automation platforms. However, its AI-assistant interface embedded as a button or browser extension that overlays real-time price-comparison and recommendation logic — differentiates it from passive aggregation services. By supporting both new and second-hand items, Phia also aligns with consumer shifts toward affordability, sustainability and faster decision-making.

The broader online-fashion market remains fragmented and fiercely competitive. For Phia to scale effectively, it must convert user engagement into revenue whether via affiliate links, brand partnerships, subscriptions or commerce facilitation. The challenge will be to maintain recommendation quality, update inventory metadata reliably, and offer sufficient value to encourage repeat use.

Strategic Implications for Retailers and Platforms

For traditional e-commerce and fashion-retail platforms, Phia’s model signals increasing pressure to offer smarter decision-support features. The “Should I buy this?” model could become a standard expectation in browsing experiences. Retailers may need to invest in richer metadata, dynamic pricing, and AI-ready integration in order to stay competitive.

Brands and marketplace operators should take note: consumer expectations are shifting toward instant insight, streamlined decision-making and cross-platform price visibility. Platforms that provide these features may gain advantage in acquisition and retention of value-conscious and digitally sophisticated shoppers.

Challenges and Adoption Hurdles

Despite its promise, Phia faces execution risk. Its business model relies on accurate data connections across thousands of platforms, sustained user engagement and monetisation of what is essentially a decision-support service rather than pure transactional flow. The dependency on browsing behaviour rather than direct marketplace traffic may lengthen the path to profitability.

Moreover, the startup must ensure data privacy, avoid biases in recommendation logic and maintain transparency about how its AI models operate. Navigating resale-market dynamics — including authenticity, quality control and logistics — adds further complexity, especially given the large footprint of second-hand listings.

Outlook

If Phia delivers on its ambition, the startup could spearhead a new category in e-commerce: AI-mediated decision assistants that layer across platforms rather than replacing them. The USD 8 million seed round will enable rapid hiring of engineering talent, refinement of algorithms and expansion of brand partnerships. Startup watchers will monitor user-growth, recommendation-accuracy metrics and conversion into commerce outcomes.

From a longer-term standpoint, Phia’s concept may influence how digital commerce evolves shifting from browsing and transactional flows into assisted decision journeys where AI intervenes intelligently. For consumers, this could mean less “shopping fatigue” and more confident purchases. For retailers, it may mean adapting to a new frontier of intelligent recommendation and participation in an AI-enhanced ecosystem.

Conclusion

Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni’s startup Phia represents a fresh take on fashion-e-commerce through the lens of artificial intelligence and real-time comparison. With celebrity investment, early traction and an ambitious vision to redefine how people shop, Phia is one to watch. The success of its “Should I buy this?” proposition may determine whether AI assistants become a standard layer in the future of online retail.

Saudi-based on-demand platforms noon and Jahez announced a strategic partnership on 30 October 2025, aimed at combining noon’s quick-commerce infrastructure with Jahez’s extensive food-delivery network to redefine convenience for consumers across the Kingdom. Wamda

Through the collaboration, Jahez app users will gain direct access to noon’s rapid-delivery “noon Minutes” service via a dedicated tile within the app, enabling access to a wider range of retail and grocery categories fulfilled through noon’s dark-store network. At the same time, the noon app will integrate Jahez’s food-delivery offering, connecting its users with Jahez’s network of over 50,000 restaurants operating across more than 100 cities in Saudi Arabia. Wamda

Strategic Motives Behind the Tie-Up

The partnership comes at a time when Saudi Arabia’s quick-commerce and food-delivery markets are becoming fiercely competitive. Analysts estimate the country’s on-demand market could reach around USD 20 billion by 2030. techscoop.io+1

For noon, the alliance provides enhanced scale in the food-delivery vertical without building the restaurant network from scratch. For Jahez, the tie-up accelerates its expansion into quick-commerce beyond food, enabling the company to access noon’s retail infrastructure and dark-store fulfilment capabilities efficiently. As Jahez CEO Ghassab Bin Mandeel stated, the partnership is a “pivotal step” that enhances their vision to elevate everyday lifestyle services for Saudi users. Wamda

Operational Highlights and Roll-Out

The phased roll-out of the integrated services is set to begin in November 2025 with the noon Minutes offering embedded in the Jahez app, followed by full deployment of Jahez’s food-delivery service within the noon app in December 2025. Wamda

This architecture allows both companies to retain operational independence while aligning key fulfilment, logistics and data capabilities. Customers of both platforms will benefit from enhanced delivery speed, broader product selection and unified loyalty perks under their existing subscription models (Jahez Prime and noon One). techscoop.io

Implications for Saudi Arabia’s Quick-Commerce Ecosystem

The deal signifies a broader shift in the region’s delivery market from fragmented competition to consolidation. As market intensity escalates, merging capabilities may offer cost efficiencies, improved customer retention and stronger competitive defensibility. AGBI

For consumers, the integrated offering promises elevated convenience: the ability to order groceries, retail items and restaurant meals within a single-app ecosystem, backed by improved networks and faster fulfilment. For competitors such as HungerStation, Keeta, Careem and Mrsool, this alliance raises the bar for service breadth, speed and user engagement in the Kingdom.

Challenges and Considerations

Despite its promise, the partnership also faces execution risk. Aligning loyalty programmes, delivery-fleet operations, data-systems and fulfilment infrastructures across two major platforms is complex. The companies must ensure service consistency and maintain customer satisfaction amidst the integration.

Additionally, scaling beyond urban centres may challenge economics, as order density, dark-store footprint and delivery cost efficiency vary across the Kingdom’s regions. Differential user behaviour and infrastructure gaps in non-core cities will need strategic handling.

Outlook

If executed effectively, this partnership may accelerate the convergence of quick-commerce and food delivery into a unified on-demand model in Saudi Arabia — and possibly serve as a template for other Gulf markets. As the Kingdom aims to deepen digital-commerce, logistics and fulfilment-infrastructure capability under its Saudi Vision 2030 agenda, such alliances enhance the strategic positioning of local platforms.

Analysts will monitor key metrics including order-frequency growth, average basket size, delivery time improvements and subscription-retention rates to assess the partnership’s impact.

Conclusion

The integration of noon and Jahez networks represents a significant milestone in Saudi Arabia’s on-demand economy. By combining quick-commerce, grocery-retail and food-delivery capabilities, the alliance seeks to offer a seamless, multi-category one-app experience for consumers — while building fortified infrastructure and competitive scale for both companies. How smoothly they manage integration and scale will determine whether this collaboration sets a new standard in Saudi Arabia’s digital-commerce landscape.

Global family offices are tempering their expectations amid rising economic headwinds, according to a recent survey by RBC Wealth Management and Campden Wealth. Nearly half of respondents (48 %) said they are focusing on improving liquidity, while one-third (33 %) are actively de-risking their portfolios.

Key Findings

The survey revealed that family offices identify major near-term risks including:

• U.S. tariff announcements seen as constraining global growth (60 %) Rising inflation (55 %)

• A potential U.S. recession (47 %) Markets Group

Looking two to five years ahead, these offices also flagged concerns such as excessive government borrowing (56 %), on-shoring of supply chains (31 %) and a potential depreciation of the dollar (31 %) as significant structural risks.

Investment-return expectations for 2025 averaged just 5 % — markedly lower than the 11 % average expected in the prior year. About 15 % of respondents anticipate negative returns. Markets Group

Asset-Allocation Shifts

In response to the less-bullish environment, family offices are making tactical shifts:

• A majority (52 %) expect cash or cash-equivalents to deliver the best returns in the next 12 months. Markets Group

• Artificial intelligence remains a top long-term theme, with 75 % of respondents citing it as likely to reward shareholders in the medium term. Clean energy (56 %), growth equities (54 %) and large-cap North American equities (41 %) also featured prominently. Markets Group

• Private markets remain central, with 88 % of offices retaining private-market exposure, but the share of such assets slipped from 30 % to 29 %. Markets Group

Strategic Implications

The mood among family offices has shifted from opportunity-driven growth to caution and preservation. The findings reflect growing recognition of elevated macro and geopolitical risks, combined with more conservative return assumptions. As one research lead at Campden Wealth noted, “family offices have become notably more cautious stewards of capital.” Markets Group

This recalibration has several implications for asset managers and advisors:

• Liquidity-management tools are gaining prominence as families prefer flexibility over commitment in uncertain markets.

• Portfolio construction may lean more toward quality assets and greater diversification — especially in sectors less sensitive to growth cycles.

• Risk-monitoring frameworks will likely strengthen around macro-tail risks, supply-chain dislocations and regulatory transitions.

• The push for innovation (such as AI) continues, but deployment timing, scale and return horizons may be extended.

A More Complex Investment Landscape

Family offices now navigate a more complex set of parameters. Tariffs, inflation, stagflation risks, higher policy-rates and structural shifts in technology and supply chains are all shaping decision-making. The expectation of lower returns is leading many to reassess traditional models of growth-oriented portfolios.

Some strategies emerging in this environment include:

• Higher allocations to liquid assets or short-duration fixed income to preserve optionality.

• Greater focus on thematic and structural plays (e.g., AI, clean energy) rather than cyclical bets.

• Increased emphasis on governance, operational resilience and data-driven decision-making.

• More cautious entry into private markets, given longer investment horizons and exit-path uncertainties.

Outlook

While family offices remain inclined to deploy capital into innovation and private markets, the pace and size of commitments may slow. The shift toward finding “less-risk, more-resilience” in portfolios suggests the next 12-18 months may see incremental rebalancing rather than aggressive expansion.

However, the long-term belief in transformative themes like AI remains strong. For asset-management firms, this environment presents opportunities to service both defensive and growth-oriented mandates tailoring solutions for preservation and innovation simultaneously.

Conclusion

The survey captures a clear pivot in family-office strategy: from optimism about outsized returns to a mindset centered on defence, resilience and prudent growth. As macro-risks rise and expected returns shrink, these institutions are preparing for a slower growth era. Their approach now emphasizes liquidity, diversification and selective exposure — all while keeping a watchful eye on the long-term opportunities that still remain.

Ooredoo Group has announced a strategic partnership with Aduna, a global aggregator of network application-programming interfaces (APIs), to make Ooredoo’s telecom API portfolio available to businesses across the Middle East, North Africa and beyond.

The collaboration allows banks, fintech firms, e-commerce platforms and digital-service providers to integrate directly with Ooredoo’s standardized APIs covering services such as identity verification, SIM-swap, know-your-customer (KYC), payments and communications without needing multiple local integrations or country-specific agreements.

Strategic Rationale

For Ooredoo, this alliance marks a key step in its strategy to monetise network capabilities via the burgeoning global API economy. Chris­tian Werner, Group Chief Strategy Officer and Acting Chief Commercial Officer at Ooredoo, said: “With this collaboration we are turning network intelligence into practical business value. Businesses can now plug Ooredoo APIs into their platforms and deliver safer, faster and more innovative digital services to customers wherever they are.”

By linking its network capabilities with Aduna’s global aggregation layer—and building on standards defined by the GSMA’s CAMARA initiative—Ooredoo aims to remove complexity for enterprise customers, accelerate time-to-market for embedded telecom services, and expand its role beyond a traditional operator into a digital-platform partner. PR Newswire

What the Partnership Offers

The partnership will provide a unified developer experience through Aduna’s platform, enabling access to Ooredoo’s telecom API suite across markets. Key benefits include:

• Reduced integration overhead for enterprises: rather than negotiating multiple carrier agreements, companies access a standardized API layer once.

• Faster product launches: fintechs or e-commerce firms can deploy identity or payment workflows leveraging Ooredoo’s network-level services.

• Cross-border scale: enterprises operating across MENA and globally can use one API connection rather than reinventing local connectivity each country.

• New revenue models for the operator: Ooredoo can monetise network assets by licensing them via APIs and sharing in innovation built on its infrastructure.

Anthony Bartolo, CEO of Aduna, described the move as “a milestone for the global network-API economy,” highlighting that the collaboration expands Aduna’s regional footprint and enhances the ability of enterprises to innovate at scale. PR Newswire

Market Context and Implications

The telecom industry is being reshaped by open APIs, platform-economy models and embedded connectivity services. Traditionally, network features like SIM-swap or carrier-billing were only available to large operators or tightly controlled ecosystems. By opening these capabilities via standard APIs, operators like Ooredoo seek to participate in new value chains built by fintechs, commerce platforms and digital-service providers.

In this context, the collaboration enables Ooredoo to compete in domains beyond connectivity such as identity-as-a-service, cross-border payments, and embedded communications. For enterprises, it reduces friction, accelerates digital-service development and makes telecom services a plug-and-play module within their offering.

Execution and Roll-Out

The integration of Ooredoo APIs into Aduna’s global platform will be rolled out across Ooredoo’s operating companies through 2027, according to the announcement. Initial phases are expected to involve enterprise onboarding, developer-tooling support, joint innovation labs and sector-specific use cases. PR Newswire

Technical and commercial readiness are both in focus: enterprises will gain access to secure APIs, global documentation, dashboards for monitoring, and standardised SLAs. Ooredoo will align its carriers to the CAMARA open-gateway framework, facilitating interoperability with other networks and platforms.

Challenges and Considerations

While promising, the initiative must overcome several challenges:

• Regulatory diver­sity across markets may require localisation of compliance, data-sovereignty, privacy and telecom-licensing rules.

• Commercial models must balance operator margins with competitive pricing for enterprises seeking API access.

• Developer ecosystem maturity is essential: enterprises must adopt the APIs, build meaningful services and scale usage to justify the operator investment.

• Operational readiness: carriers must ensure APIs are reliable, performant and secure at scale across geographies.

Outlook

The partnership between Ooredoo and Aduna positions both companies at the cutting edge of telecom-for-commerce. If executed well, it could accelerate the embedding of connectivity and network-services into digital-business workflows, enabling new services in finance, commerce, identity, IoT and mobility.

For Ooredoo, it opens a path to capture value beyond the subscriber connection moving into platform services and ecosystem revenues. For enterprises, it offers a streamlined route to deploy telecom-native capabilities across markets.

Conclusion

The agreement between Ooredoo Group and Aduna represents a strategic leap in network innovation. By making operator-native APIs accessible via a global aggregation platform, the collaboration unlocks possibilities for enterprise digital-services, cross-border commerce, embedded connectivity and fintech integration. As the telecom industry evolves into a services-and-platforms era, operators who enable developer ecosystems and partner with global aggregators may redefine their role and capture new sources of value.