Cluely: AI Cheating Tool That Helped Columbia Dropout Raise $5.3M

Two bold AI startups are making waves. One defies tradition while the other rewrites the rules. Cluely, created by a suspended Columbia student, challenges hiring norms. Spur, founded by Yale graduates, simplifies website testing. Both raised millions, proving that disruption still attracts serious backing.

Chungin “Roy” Lee, a 21-year-old former Columbia University student, has secured $5.3 million in funding to build Cluely, an AI tool that offers real time assistance in high pressure situations. The funding round was led by Abstract and Susa Ventures, with support from several angel investors.

Cluely is designed to provide undetectable support during interviews, assignments, exams, meetings, and sales calls. It watches the user’s screen, listens to audio, and delivers instant suggestions and answers without being noticed. 

Lee promoted Cluely’s launch on X, stating the tool is about changing the meaning of “cheating” and redefining how people access help in real time.

“Now I raised $5.3 million to build Cluely, a cheating tool for literally everything,” Lee said. “Every single time technology has made people smarter, the world panics. Then it adapts. Then it forgets.”

The idea builds on Lee’s earlier product, Interview Coder, which gained attention for helping candidates pass technical interviews unnoticed. That tool quietly ran in the background during video calls, writing code, fixing bugs, and explaining solutions. Lee used it to land offers from Amazon, Meta, and TikTok, all of which were revoked after he revealed he had used his tool.

Lee shared a demo of Interview Coder in action, revealing how the AI tool operates invisibly during live tasks without detection—watch the full video below.

“If tech companies call themselves AI first, they should also accept the use of AI during interviews,” Lee said.

Interview Coder charged users $60 per month and reached $1 million in annual recurring revenue within 36 days. It is now on track to double that, with monthly revenue growing by 20%.

With Cluely, Lee wants to go beyond interviews. He sees the product as a tool that changes how people learn and perform under pressure. 

“Cluely is the bridge to a world where humans do not compete with machines, we grow with them.”