Latest news with #BryanKim
Yahoo
26-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Why a16z VC believes that Cluely, the ‘cheat on everything' startup, is the new blueprint for AI startups
When Cluely, a startup claiming to be building a product that helps people 'cheat' on everything, announced that it raised a $15 million Series A financing from Andreessen Horowitz, some people on X criticized the VC firm for backing the controversial company. After all, Cluely isn't just offering a product that may have questionable uses, but the startup has become famous for using what many people call rage-bait marketing. But Cluely's ability to grab attention is precisely what attracted a16z to the startup. Even before meeting Cluely's founder Roy Lee, Andreessen Horowitz's partner Bryan Kim thought that startups need new marketing tactics in the AI era. Kim, like many investors, previously thought that building a superb 'artisan' product with highly desired features was the key to a startup's lasting success, he explained on the latest a16z podcast episode. But shortly after the emergence of GenAI, he noticed that offering an exceptional product might not be enough. 'If you craft this thing and OpenAI or someone builds a new model to include that part in their product, you're done,' Kim said. 'So, it couldn't become this highly thoughtful, slow-build product. It needed to be something where founders moved extremely quickly.' That realization has led Kim to believe that speed, whether in marketing or product building, is paramount to creating a successful startup. Earlier this month, Kim published a post explaining his theory of why, for consumer-facing AI startups, 'momentum is the moat.' When Kim met Lee and saw that Cluely had been able to convert awareness into paying customers, he instantly knew that he had discovered a founder he had theorized about. 'It's been so hard to pierce through the noise of everything AI, especially in consumer, and to do that consistently is actually near impossible,' Kim said. How does Lee explain why his polarizing marketing approach has generated so much buzz? 'Most people don't know how to make viral content,' Lee said on the podcast. 'Everyone on X is trying to [sound] like the most intellectual, thoughtful person. But this just lacks viral sense.' Lee, instead, had studied why some posts on TikTok and Instagram blow up. 'Algorithms promote the most controversial things,' he said. 'I'm just literally applying the same principles of controversy on X and LinkedIn.' What many people don't know, Lee said, is that Cluely barely had a functioning product when the startup launched in April with its slickly produced video of Lee using its hidden AI to a lie to a woman about his age and knowledge of art while on a date. Despite having some semblance of a product, the startup has yet to unveil the solution it has been hyping. 'The internet is up in storm saying, 'Where's the product?'' Lee said. 'We're earlier than the latest YC batch of companies. Yet, we're generating more views than every single one of them.' Lee is convinced that once the product launches, it will generate even more excitement than if Cluely introduced it without 'marketing' the company for the last two months. (The official launch is set for Friday, June 27, he posted on X.) Kim sees Cluely's approach as a perfect embodiment of his 'momentum as a moat' theory. Since time is of the essence in AI, the a16z partner is convinced that Cluely can figure out its product on the fly. 'What's important is to try to build a plane as it's falling down the cliff,' Kim said. We'll all see soon if that plane soars or crashes.
TechCrunch
26-06-2025
- Business
- TechCrunch
Why a16z VC believes that Cluely, the ‘cheat on everything' startup, is the new blueprint for AI startups
When Cluely, a startup claiming to be building a product that helps people 'cheat' on everything, announced that it raised a $15 million Series A financing from Andreessen Horowitz, some people on X criticized the VC firm for backing the controversial company. After all, Cluely isn't just offering a product that may have questionable uses, but the startup has become famous for using what many people call rage-bait marketing. But Cluely's ability to grab attention is precisely what attracted a16z to the startup. Even before meeting Cluely's founder Roy Lee, Andreessen Horowitz's partner Bryan Kim thought that startups need new marketing tactics in the AI era. Kim, like many investors, previously thought that building a superb 'artisan' product with highly desired features was the key to a startup's lasting success, he explained on the latest a16z podcast episode. But shortly after the emergence of GenAI, he noticed that offering an exceptional product might not be enough. 'If you craft this thing and OpenAI or someone builds a new model to include that part in their product, you're done,' Kim said. 'So, it couldn't become this highly thoughtful, slow-build product. It needed to be something where founders moved extremely quickly.' Techcrunch event Save $200+ on your TechCrunch All Stage pass Build smarter. Scale faster. Connect deeper. Join visionaries from Precursor Ventures, NEA, Index Ventures, Underscore VC, and beyond for a day packed with strategies, workshops, and meaningful connections. Save $200+ on your TechCrunch All Stage pass Build smarter. Scale faster. Connect deeper. Join visionaries from Precursor Ventures, NEA, Index Ventures, Underscore VC, and beyond for a day packed with strategies, workshops, and meaningful connections. Boston, MA | REGISTER NOW That realization has led Kim to believe that speed, whether in marketing or product building, is paramount to creating a successful startup. Earlier this month, Kim published a post explaining his theory of why, for consumer-facing AI startups, 'momentum is the moat.' When Kim met Lee and saw that Cluely had been able to convert awareness into paying customers, he instantly knew that he had discovered a founder he had theorized about. 'It's been so hard to pierce through the noise of everything AI, especially in consumer, and to do that consistently is actually near impossible,' Kim said. How does Lee explain why his polarizing marketing approach has generated so much buzz? 'Most people don't know how to make viral content,' Lee said on the podcast. 'Everyone on X is trying to [sound] like the most intellectual, thoughtful person. But this just lacks viral sense.' Lee, instead, had studied why some posts on TikTok and Instagram blow up. 'Algorithms promote the most controversial things,' he said. 'I'm just literally applying the same principles of controversy on X and LinkedIn.' What many people don't know, Lee said, is that Cluely barely had a functioning product when the startup launched in April with its slickly produced video of Lee using its hidden AI to a lie to a woman about his age and knowledge of art while on a date. Despite having some semblance of a product, the startup has yet to unveil the solution it has been hyping. 'The internet is up in storm saying, 'Where's the product?'' Lee said. 'We're earlier than the latest YC batch of companies. Yet, we're generating more views than every single one of them.' Lee is convinced that once the product launches, it will generate even more excitement than if Cluely introduced it without 'marketing' the company for the last two months. (The official launch is set for Friday, June 27, he posted on X.) Kim sees Cluely's approach as a perfect embodiment of his 'momentum as a moat' theory. Since time is of the essence in AI, the a16z partner is convinced that Cluely can figure out its product on the fly. 'What's important is to try to build a plane as it's falling down the cliff,' Kim said. We'll all see soon if that plane soars or crashes.
NBC Sports
15-05-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Inside the field: 2025 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship
The field for the 2025 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship is set. Thirty teams and six individuals punched their tickets on Wednesday to next week's national championship, which begins May 23 at Omni La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, California. The field includes top-ranked and defending NCAA champion Auburn, plus seven other teams ranked in the top 10 of the national collegiate ranking. Only No. 6 LSU and No. 10 North Carolina failed to advance. The worst-ranked team headed to nationals is Augusta, ranked No. 106 in the country before finishing fifth as the No. 12 seed at the NCAA Tallahassee Regional. The individuals not on advancing teams: Claes Borregaard, Kennesaw State; Bryan Kim, Duke; Jacob Modleski, Notre Dame; Sakke Siltala, Texas State; Hunter Thomson, Michigan; and Braxton Watts, Utah. Here is a closer look at the 30 teams that will be participating:
