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Yahoo
27-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Banned By Columbia, Backed By Millions: 21-Year-Old's AI Startup Cluely Lets You Cheat On Exams, Interviews, And Sales Calls
Cluely, a provocative AI startup born from academic controversy, just closed a $5.3 million seed round led by Abstract Ventures and Susa Ventures. According to Futurism, the company's core product is a real-time, invisible AI assistant that operates through a hidden browser overlay, giving users live answers during interviews, coding tests, exams, and even meetings. Don't Miss: 'Scrolling To UBI' — Deloitte's #1 fastest-growing software company allows users to earn money on their phones. Hasbro, MGM, and Skechers trust this AI marketing firm — . The founders, Chungin "Roy" Lee and Neel Shanmugam dropped out of Columbia University after being suspended for creating the early version of the tool, known then as Interview Coder. That tool, built to help candidates navigate technical interviews on platforms like LeetCode, quickly went viral and caught the attention of Columbia's disciplinary board. Within weeks of their suspension, the co-founders rebranded the product and announced the funding round on LinkedIn. Their AI, marketed as "completely undetectable," sees the screen, hears the audio, and feeds the user context-specific responses in real time. In an interview with the New York Times' "Hard Fork' podcast, co-founder Lee stated, 'I read the student handbook quite thoroughly before I actually started building this thing [...] but I didn't actually expect to get expelled at all. And the student handbook very explicitly doesn't mention anything about academic resources.' Trending: Donald Trump Just Announced a $500 Billion AI Infrastructure Deal — The $5.3 million funding round, completed in just a few weeks following Cluely's rebrand, is being seen as a sign of growing investor appetite for new forms of human-AI collaboration, particularly in areas where performance pressure and assessment bias remain high. Since launching its current version, Cluely has reported more than $3 million in annual recurring revenue. While critics have raised ethical questions about the software, supporters argue that it highlights inefficiencies in existing gatekeeping systems, particularly the widespread reliance on memorization-heavy assessments like LeetCode in technical hiring processes, writes Business Today. A recent promotional video shared by the founder on X showed Lee using the software during a date to fabricate knowledge and facts in real-time, sparking debate across social media. While some saw the demonstration as a humorous take on modern dating and digital dependence, others likened it to scenarios featured in dystopian fiction such as Black Mirror. Some developers have already attempted to counteract Cluely's software, with one Reddit user claiming to have created a Swift-based tool that detects the platform when it is the public controversy, the startup continues to gain traction across industries. Early adopters include tech workers preparing for job interviews, sales professionals seeking support during live calls, and students managing online exam environments. According to Fortune, Cluely offers unlimited access to its AI tool through a subscription model priced at $20 per month or $100 annually. With funding, momentum building, institutional support from respected venture firms, and rapidly growing user demand, Cluely is signaling a broader shift in the conversation around AI, merit, and human augmentation. Whether the world sees that as a threat or an evolution remains to be seen. Read Next: Here's what Americans think you need to be considered wealthy. Inspired by Uber and Airbnb – Deloitte's fastest-growing software company is transforming 7 billion smartphones into income-generating assets – Image: Shutterstock Up Next: Transform your trading with Benzinga Edge's one-of-a-kind market trade ideas and tools. Click now to access unique insights that can set you ahead in today's competitive market. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? APPLE (AAPL): Free Stock Analysis Report TESLA (TSLA): Free Stock Analysis Report This article Banned By Columbia, Backed By Millions: 21-Year-Old's AI Startup Cluely Lets You Cheat On Exams, Interviews, And Sales Calls originally appeared on © 2025 Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Sign in to access your portfolio
Hindustan Times
22-04-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
AI startup that lets you ‘cheat' in interviews and exams gets $5.3 million boost
Cluely, a new AI startup founded by 21-year-old Chungin Lee, has secured $5.3 million in funding from Abstract Ventures and Susa Ventures. The startup is attracting attention for its bold positioning as an AI-powered tool that helps users 'cheat on everything.' As the name suggests, the AI tool offers real-time, hidden assistance during job interviews, exams, and sales calls. It provides answers via a concealed in-browser window that remains invisible to others, including interviewers and proctors. Cluely's origin story is as unconventional as its product. Lee, a former Columbia University student, went viral on X (formerly Twitter) after revealing he was suspended from the university for co-creating an earlier version of the tool. Named Interview Coder, it was built to assist software engineers in passing technical interviews using covert AI support. Rather than derail his ambitions, the suspension served as a launchpad. Lee and his co-founder expanded their idea into Cluely, a San Francisco-based company aiming to scale this AI-based assistance to broader scenarios beyond job interviews. In its online manifesto, the startup argues that tools like Cluely represent the next logical step in human-computer collaboration. However, the comparison is drawing mixed reactions, with critics warning that the tool encourages deception in professional and academic settings. Cluely released a launch video featuring Lee using the tool during a date to falsely claim knowledge about art and his own age. The video, though polished, has sparked debate over the company's ethical stance and approach to marketing. Some have called it a sharp satire of modern AI use, while others see it as normalising dishonesty. You can watch the video below. Despite the polarising premise, Cluely's ability to attract top-tier venture funding highlights continued investor interest in AI applications, even those that push ethical boundaries.
