Chungin “Roy” Lee, a 21-year-old former Columbia University student, announced on Sunday that his startup, Cluely, raised $5.3 million in seed funding from Abstract Ventures and Susa Ventures. The company has sparked controversy by openly marketing an AI tool designed to allow users to “cheat on everything,” ranging from exams and job interviews to sales calls.
The idea for Cluely emerged after Lee was suspended from Columbia University over a viral episode involving a tool he created with co-founder and fellow Columbia dropout Neel Shanmugan. Originally named Interview Coder, their initial product targeted software engineers looking to secretly leverage AI during technical interviews conducted online.
Now based in San Francisco, Cluely offers users discreet browser windows invisible to interviewers or examiners. In a provocative manifesto, the company’s founders contrasted their product with previously controversial innovations like calculators and spellcheck utilities, arguing they once were viewed as “cheating” but are today broadly accepted.
The announcement coincided with the release of a striking promotional video featuring Lee on an awkward dinner-date gone awry—relying on Cluely’s hidden AI to falsely claim expertise ranging from art knowledge to even his own age. While the ad sparked considerable attention, responses have been sharply divided. Some praised its boldness, while others likened it to a disturbing episode straight from the dystopian series “Black Mirror.”
Lee claims the startup has already reached $3 million in annual recurring revenue earlier this month. He also admitted using the software to secure an internship position at Amazon, though the company declined to comment on his particular employment, emphasizing a general policy against unauthorized assistance during interviews.
Columbia University did not offer comments, citing student privacy laws, but campus newspaper reports indicate both Lee and Shanmugan faced disciplinary actions prior to leaving school. Cluely initially aimed squarely at coding interviews on the popular LeetCode platform, challenging the notion held by many software engineers—including its founders—that such testing systems are outdated and unnecessarily burdensome.
The company’s provocative messaging and ethical boundary-pushing come at a time when similarly controversial AI startups continue making headlines; recently, a prominent AI researcher announced his own ambitious venture publicly aiming to “replace all human workers,” generating its own distinct controversy.
