Phoebe Gates responds to Phia controversy as AI startup hits $185M
Phoebe Gates' AI startup, Phia, faced scrutiny after a Bloomberg investigation revealed its browser extension was misattributing affiliate commissions through 'cookie stuffing.' The company has since resolved the issue and stated that the problematic code was an error rather than intentional policy violation.
Why it matters
This incident highlights the ethical and technical challenges startups face regarding data transparency and the integrity of affiliate marketing practices.
Phoebe Gates, the daughter of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, has broken her silence after her AI-driven shopping startup, Phia, came under scrutiny following a Bloomberg investigation into the way its browser extension tracked online purchases and attributed affiliate commissions.The 23-year-old entrepreneur, who co-founded Phia with her former Stanford University roommate Sophia Kianni, said the issue was quickly identified and fixed after it was brought to the company's attention."Within the last 24 hours, we were made aware that in a recent release our codebase was causing misattributions from a subset of users," a Phia spokesperson told Bloomberg.
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