A bold new player in the AI world is stirring up controversy—and investors are buying in. Twenty-one-year-old Chungin “Roy” Lee, recently suspended from Columbia University, has secured $5.3 million in seed funding for his San Francisco-based startup, Cluely, which openly markets an AI cheating tool designed to help users “cheat on everything.”
The funding round, led by Abstract Ventures and Susa Ventures, backs a startup that’s already gone viral—and not for traditional reasons. Cluely emerged from an earlier tool called Interview Coder, which Lee and his co-founder created to secretly assist job seekers during technical interviews. That same project led to disciplinary action against both co-founders at Columbia and, eventually, their decision to drop out.
What began as a covert aid for software engineers tackling LeetCode-style questions has now evolved into something broader—and far more polarizing. Cluely’s platform uses a hidden browser overlay that lets users receive real-time AI support during interviews, exams, and sales calls, all without the other party knowing. The company isn’t hiding its intentions either. On social media, Cluely calls its tool a game-changer for anyone looking to bend the rules and gain a competitive edge.
In a viral launch video posted by Lee, the AI tool was used during a date to help him fake knowledge about art and his age—unsuccessfully. The cinematic clip has drawn comparisons to “Black Mirror,” with critics on X calling it dystopian and manipulative. Others, however, argue it mirrors historical pushback against now-standard tools like calculators and spellcheck.
Despite the backlash, Cluely’s numbers are gaining traction. Lee revealed that the startup has already crossed $3 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR). His co-founder, Neel Shanmugam, also a 21-year-old and former Columbia student, serves as Cluely’s COO. Like Lee, Shanmugam left the university after facing consequences for their AI-powered creation. Columbia University declined to comment on the matter, citing student privacy protections.
Cluely’s origin traces back to a deep dissatisfaction with coding interview platforms like LeetCode, which the founders say don’t reflect real-world programming challenges. The tool they built aimed to subvert that system—and in Lee’s case, it allegedly helped him land an internship at Amazon. However, the company wouldn’t confirm or deny Lee’s claim, only noting that its candidates must commit to avoiding unauthorized assistance during the hiring process.
Cluely’s rise is part of a larger trend in AI’s ethical gray zone. Just earlier this month, another AI founder went viral for declaring his goal to replace human workers entirely, sparking heated debate online. Cluely might not go that far, but it’s clearly staking its future on challenging conventional rules—and defending it as the next evolution of productivity tools.
Whether the world embraces or condemns it, Cluely’s AI cheating tool is here—and it’s raising the stakes for what AI assistance looks like in everyday life.
