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Phia: Geographic Expansion
Phia, an AI-powered shopping assistant founded by Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni, signed an 8,900 sq ft lease at premium penthouse space in Manhattan (37 East 18th Street) at $125/sqft, relocating from previous NYC office. Company now has 1.5M users and $185M valuation post-$35M Series A.
Source: Commercial Observer
The leadership read
Market entry of this kind typically deepens demand for the sector leadership bench strength in the region over the following 12–18 months.
Market context: Backdrop: a 112.7 (Hot) Talent Market Index (up 11.4 on the month) with Americas activity rising (+2.6pts).
Phia: 2 signals in the last 90 days; 0.1% of MitchelLake's Americas signal flow; 2 tracked across 23 days.
Market entry — the MitchelLake playbook
When a company expands into a new market, the first leadership hires decide whether it lands. A selection of market entries we've run:
Market entry · Oceania
Square
Executive Search Fintech
Market entry
Dropbox
Executive Search for SaaS
Market entry · Asia
Deliveroo
Executive Search in ASEAN
Market entry · Oceania
SurveyMonkey
Managing Director APAC (first hire in region) / Country Manager
Market entry · Asia
LivePerson
Director ASEAN (first hire in region); also Head of Presales APAC
Market entry · Oceania
Etsy
Managing Director, Australia + Asia (MD APAC)
MitchelLake in this thematic
Also at Phia →
More signals across Americas
Geographic Expansion · Americas
BetMGM →BetMGM opened preregistration for Alberta players ahead of July 13 market launch, expanding its sports betting operations into the Canadian province.
Geographic Expansion · Americas
Creative Artists Agency →Creative Artists Agency opened a new 75,000 sq ft office at Nashville Yards in downtown Nashville, housing 160 employees across music, sports, touring, and content divisions. The move represents a significant physical and operational expansion in the Southeast region.
Geographic Expansion · Americas
Transurban →Transurban signed a Development Framework Agreement with Virginia Department of Transportation to assess a 6x larger expansion of the I-95 Express Lanes, adding ~120 lane miles and 140% capacity increase. Financial close anticipated 2029.
Geographic Expansion · Americas
Ezee Fiber →Ezee Fiber expanding multi-gig fiber network into six municipalities across three counties in Illinois, construction underway.
Geographic Expansion · Americas
Boston Dynamics →Boston Dynamics is investing $100M in a new 323,000-sq-ft robotics and AI manufacturing center in Waltham, Massachusetts, consolidating three nearby operations. The facility will support production of Atlas, Spot, and Stretch robot platforms, with 1,250 jobs expected by 2033 and $25M in state incentives awarded.
Geographic Expansion · Americas
Polestar →Polestar, a Chinese-owned EV manufacturer, was barred by the U.S. Department of Commerce from selling new EVs in the US after being denied special authorization to continue operations
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