Phia, the shopping startup co-founded by Bill Gates’ daughter Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni, has been caught with its hand in the cookie jar - or rather, the cookie stuffer. According to a Bloomberg investigation, the company was accused of “cookie stuffing,” a practice that lets it take affiliate credit for sales it had absolutely nothing to do with. Think of it as showing up at a party, taking credit for bringing the dip, and then eating all the dip.

The report led to Phia’s suspension from Impact.com, a major affiliate platform. It’s a familiar story: PayPal-owned Honey is currently facing a class-action lawsuit over similar allegations. Phia, founded in 2025, has raised over $40 million from a glittery roster of investors including Khloé Kardashian and Hailey Bieber. The company’s browser extension helps users find the best prices and discount codes, earning a commission through affiliate marketing. But according to Bloomberg, an independent consultant, and a competitor, Phia was hijacking the referral process. Even if a user arrived at a retailer through another affiliate like Wirecutter, Phia would open a sneaky background tab and override the existing referral code, swiping the commission for itself.

Once confronted, Phia told Bloomberg it had fixed the issue, and a follow-up check confirmed the fix. Whether that’s enough to placate retailers and partners remains to be seen. TechCrunch reached out to Phia for comment but received no response - perhaps they were too busy stuffing cookies.