{"id":45799,"date":"2026-08-15T03:31:45","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T22:31:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=45799"},"modified":"2026-08-15T03:31:45","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T22:31:45","slug":"phoebe-gates-wasnt-known-as-a-good-coder-according-to-stanford-classmates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=45799","title":{"rendered":"Phoebe Gates wasn&#8217;t known as a good coder, according to Stanford classmates"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F3%2F2026%2F08%2F137316119.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Phoebe Gates\u2019 Stanford classmates are helping Page Six crack the code.<\/p>\n<p>Bill and Melinda Gates\u2019 daughter may be in <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/08\/12\/business\/bill-gates-daughter-phoebe-accused-of-cookie-stuffing-scheme-that-has-max-penalty-of-20-years-in-prison-reports\/\">hot water over her shopping startup Phia<\/a>, raising questions about how qualified she is to run a tech business when her own coding experience appears limited. One of Gates\u2019 Stanford classmates revealed the billionaire heiress apparently did not take advanced coding classes at the Ivy League, as her degree in human biology didn\u2019t require it.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, \u201cPhoebe herself did not have to take a single computer science class. She could have taken classes that involved understanding how computer science works, but it would\u2019ve been very much around biology research \u2013 if she even took those classes,\u201d the source said. <\/p>\n<p>Stanford and Gates have not responded to Page Six\u2019s request for comment. <\/p>\n<p>Gates wouldn\u2019t have been able to simply jump into advanced coding classes, our source explained. She would have needed to complete prerequisites, making them difficult to fit into her schedule, especially since she graduated a year early.<\/p>\n<p>However, Gates, 23, did take an applied artificial intelligence and entrepreneurship class that helped spark Phia, the multi-billion dollar digital personal shopping assistant startup, she co-founded with Stanford roommate Sophia Kianni, 25. The young entrepreneurs found themselves at the center of a tech scandal this week after being accused of \u201ccookie-stuffing\u201d at the startup. But it turns out, nepo tech baby Gates and her startup was the laughing stock at her alma mater.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Phoebe Gates could be in trouble over her fashion startup Phia.  <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images for TechCrunch<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Phoebe is the 23-year-old daughter of billionaire Microsoft founder Bill Gates.  <span class=\"credit\">phoebegates\/Instagram<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Her Stanford classmates didn\u2019t know her to be a strong coder, according to our source. In fact, when plans for Phia were announced, some computer science students allegedly \u201claughed in their faces,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n<p>A rep for Kianni confirmed that she did not take any formal computer science classes at Stanford. Our source quipped that Kianni \u201cwouldn\u2019t know what a cookie was\u201d from the coursework she <em>did<\/em> take in her Science, Technology and Society degree.<\/p>\n<p>Kianni is identified in leaked Slack messages discussing Phia\u2019s controversial \u201ccookie stuffing\u201d practice with engineers and allegedly instructing them to keep the cookies \u201cdropping.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She allegedly told one engineer over Slack, \u201cwhatever we can do to keep these cookies dropping will be amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Phoebe Gates attended Stanford, where her classmates say she was not known as a good coder. <span class=\"credit\">yujie \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Gates created Phia with her Stanford roommate Sophia Kianni, pictured on the right.  <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Bloomberg reported that Phia\u2019s \u201cAuto Drop\u201d feature may have allowed the company to collect commissions on purchases it didn\u2019t actually send shoppers to. Phia initially called it a software bug, but new reporting, including Kianni\u2019s alleged Slack messages, suggests the feature had been around for months. (In simple terms, \u201ccookie stuffing\u201d can make it look like a company sent a shopper to a retailer when it didn\u2019t \u2014 potentially allowing it to collect a commission anyway).<\/p>\n<p>The company has disputed some findings and says it has shut down the feature and is reviewing affected sales. <\/p>\n<p>After Phia disabled the features in July, average daily revenue at the company plummeted from around $80,000 to between $10,000 and $28,000, according to Bloomberg.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Phia has been accused of \u201ccookie stuffing\u201d, which can make it look like a company sent a shopper to a retailer when it didn\u2019t.  <span class=\"credit\">Bloomberg via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Kianni and Gates\u2019 coding knowledge is now being questioned in light of the controversy.  <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Gates, who allegedly resides in a $51million Flatiron penthouse, and Kianni are\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/08\/12\/business\/bill-gates-daughter-phoebe-accused-of-cookie-stuffing-scheme-that-has-max-penalty-of-20-years-in-prison-reports\/\">unlikely to face the maximum 20 years behind bars\u00a0<\/a>for potential charges stemming from the \u201ccookie stuffing\u201d allegations \u2014 but they could face civil lawsuits and financial penalties if the claims are proven, <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/08\/13\/business\/the-punishment-bill-gatess-daughter-phoebe-is-most-likely-to-face-over-phias-cookie-stuffing-controversy\/\">experts told The Post<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Phoebe Gates\u2019 Stanford classmates are helping Page Six crack the code. Bill and Melinda Gates\u2019 daughter may be in hot water over her shopping startup Phia, raising questions about how qualified she is to run a tech business when her own coding experience appears limited. One of Gates\u2019 Stanford classmates revealed the billionaire heiress apparently&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":45800,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/08\/137316119.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45799","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pics-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45799","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=45799"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45799\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/45800"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=45799"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=45799"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=45799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}