‘Cheat on everything’: Suspended from Columbia for AI cheating tool, 21-year-old now raises $5.3M for startup

A 21-year-old entrepreneur, Chungin “Roy” Lee, has raised $5.3 million for his startup Cluely, an AI cheating tool that helps users during exams, interviews, and calls without being noticed, according to a report from TechCrunch.

Lee said he has raised $5.3 million in seed funding from Abstract Ventures and Susa Ventures for his startup, Cluely — an AI tool designed to help users “cheat on everything.”

The idea came after Lee was suspended from Columbia University for building a tool to help software engineers cheat during job interviews. That tool, originally called Interview Coder, is now part of Cluely, a San Francisco-based company.

Cluely’s AI runs in a hidden browser window, giving users real-time help during exams, sales calls, or interviews without being detected. The company defends its approach by comparing itself to tools like calculators and spellcheck, which were once seen as cheating but are now widely accepted.

Cluely also shared a flashy launch video showing Lee using the tool to (unsuccessfully) lie on a date, sparking mixed reactions online.

Some people liked the video for being attention-grabbing, while others criticised it, comparing it to something out of the dystopian show Black Mirror.

Lee, who is now Cluely’s CEO, told TechCrunch that the AI tool recently crossed $3 million in annual revenue.

Co-founder Neel Shanmugam is now Cluely’s COO

His co-founder, Neel Shanmugam, is also 21 and a former Columbia University dropout. He now serves as Cluely’s COO.

Both were involved in disciplinary action at Columbia over the tool and have since dropped out, according to the university’s student newspaper.

Originally created to crack LeetCode

The tool was originally created to help developers cheat on LeetCode, according to the report.

LeetCode is an online platform that offers a collection of coding challenges and problems designed to help individuals prepare for technical interviews, particularly in the software engineering field.

It is coding platform that the founders and others view as outdated and unnecessary for job placement tests.

Lee also claimed he secured an internship at Amazon using the tool. While Amazon did not comment on his case specifically, it said that all candidates must refrain from using unauthorised tools during interviews.

Cluely isn’t the only controversial AI startup this month. A prominent AI researcher also launched a company aiming to replace human workers, sparking widespread debate online.