# Cluely > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Cluely > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Cluely.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cluely > Source revision: 1355679077 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{short description|American AI assistant company}} {{Infobox company | name = Cluely, Inc. | logo = | type = [Private](/source/Privately_held_company) | industry = [Artificial intelligence](/source/Artificial_intelligence) | founded = {{Start date and age|2025|04|20}} | founders = {{Unbulleted list|[Roy Lee](/source/Roy_Lee_(entrepreneur))|Neel Shanmugam|Alex Chen}} | hq_location = [New York](/source/New_York_City), [New York](/source/New_York_(state)) | area_served = Primarily [United States](/source/United_States) | key_people = {{Unbulleted list|Roy Lee ([CEO](/source/Chief_executive_officer))|Neel Shanmugam ([COO](/source/Chief_operating_officer))|Alex Chen ([CTO](/source/Chief_technology_officer))}} | products = AI meeting assistant software | services = | revenue = | num_employees = 16 (2025){{cite web |last=Jetha |first=Rya |title=Inside the intentionally ‘fratty’ AI startup that wants you to ‘cheat on everything’ |url=https://sfstandard.com/2025/07/18/cluely-startups-roy-lee-columbia-cheating-viral-tiktok/ |work=The San Francisco Standard |date=July 18, 2025}} | website = {{URL|cluely.com}} }} '''Cluely, Inc.''' is an American [artificial intelligence](/source/artificial_intelligence) startup founded in 2025 and based in [New York City](/source/New_York_City). Its product provides real-time AI assistance during virtual meetings and interviews. The company attracted significant controversy and media attention for its initial "cheat on everything" marketing campaign, before pivoting to position itself as a conventional AI meeting assistant. ==History== Cluely was founded by [Chungin "Roy" Lee](/source/Roy_Lee_(entrepreneur)), Neel Shanmugam, and Alex Chen, following Lee and Shanmugam's suspension from [Columbia University](/source/Columbia_University) in March 2025. The suspension resulted from their creation of Interview Coder, a [Chrome](/source/Google_Chrome) [browser extension](/source/browser_extension) that provided AI-generated coding solutions for [LeetCode](/source/LeetCode) exercises during technical [job interview](/source/job_interview)s.{{cite web |last1=Rollet |first1=Charles |title=Columbia student suspended over interview cheating tool raises $5.3M to 'cheat on everything' |url=https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/21/columbia-student-suspended-over-interview-cheating-tool-raises-5-3m-to-cheat-on-everything/ |website=TechCrunch |access-date=9 November 2025|date=2025-04-21}} The company officially launched on April 20, 2025, generating 70,000 user signups within the first week.{{cite web |last1=Lee |first1=Chong Ming |title=A new AI app that helps you cheat in conversations is slick, a little creepy, and not quite ready for your next meeting |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/cluely-ai-cheat-job-interviews-columbia-chungin-roy-lee-2025-4 |website=Business Insider |access-date=9 November 2025|date=2025-04-24}} Cluely announced $5.3 million in [seed funding](/source/seed_funding) on April 21, 2025, co-led by Abstract Ventures and Susa Ventures. On June 20, 2025, the company raised an additional $15 million [Series A round](/source/Series_A_round) led by [Andreessen Horowitz](/source/Andreessen_Horowitz), bringing total funding to $20.3 million.{{cite web |last1=Rollet |first1=Charles |title=Viral AI 'cheating' startup Cluely lands $15 million led by Andreessen Horowitz |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/cluely-viral-ai-cheating-startup-15-million-a16z-2025-6 |website=Business Insider |access-date=9 November 2025|date=2025-06-21}} Lee told ''[TechCrunch](/source/TechCrunch)'' in 2025 that Cluely's [annual recurring revenue](/source/annual_recurring_revenue) was $7 million, which he admitted in 2026 was a lie. According to screenshots posted by Lee on [X](/source/X_(social_network)), it was $5.2 million.{{Cite web |last=Bort |first=Julie |date=2026-03-05 |title=Cluely CEO Roy Lee admits to publicly lying about revenue numbers last year |url=https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/05/cluely-ceo-roy-lee-admits-to-publicly-lying-about-revenue-numbers-last-year/ |access-date=2026-04-25 |website=TechCrunch |language=en-US}} ==Product== Cluely is a desktop application that monitors screen content and audio during virtual meetings. The software uses [large language model](/source/large_language_model)s to generate real-time suggestions for answers to questions through an overlay interface designed to be invisible during screen-sharing. The company has also launched a mobile app which serves as an [AI meeting notetaker](/source/AI_notetaker). Independent testing by multiple journalists revealed significant performance issues, including response delays of 5–90 seconds and generic suggestions.{{cite web |last1=Song |first1=Victoria |title=I used the 'cheat on everything' AI tool and it didn't help me cheat on anything |url=https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/654223/cheat-on-everything-ai |website=The Verge |access-date=9 November 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250423133254/https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/654223/cheat-on-everything-ai |archive-date=2025-04-23|date=2025-04-23}} Lee later acknowledged to ''[TechCrunch](/source/TechCrunch)'' that the product was "in a really raw state" at launch. ==Controversy== ===Marketing campaign=== Cluely's launch centered on the tagline "Cheat on Everything", with marketing materials explicitly promoting the tool for use during job interviews, exams, and personal interactions. The launch video depicted Lee using the software on a date to fabricate his age, knowledge, and career details. By late April 2025, Cluely removed explicit references to cheating on exams and interviews from its website under increased scrutiny. By November 2025, the company had repositioned itself as a standard AI meeting assistant competing with tools like [Otter.ai](/source/Otter.ai).{{cite web |last1=Temkin |first1=Marina |title=Cluely's Roy Lee hints that viral hype is not enough |url=https://techcrunch.com/2025/11/05/cluelys-roy-lee-hints-that-viral-hype-is-not-enough/ |website=TechCrunch |access-date=9 November 2025|date=2025-11-05}} === Zoning violation === Cluely announced in late 2025 it would relocate its headquarters from San Francisco's [SoMa district](/source/South_of_Market%2C_San_Francisco) to New York City following a [zoning](/source/Zoning_in_the_United_States) violation at its live‑work residential property, where several employees had been residing and working.{{cite web |last=Jetha |first=Rya |title=San Francisco’s most controversial startup is moving to New York |url=https://sfstandard.com/2025/11/20/san-francisco-s-controversial-startup-moving-new-york/ |work=The San Francisco Standard |date=November 20, 2025}}{{cite web |last1=Jetha |first1=Rya |last2=Landes |first2=Emily |title=Move garages, startups now hatching luxury mansions |url=https://sfstandard.com/2026/03/17/move-garages-startups-now-hatching-luxury-mansions/ |work=The San Francisco Standard |date=March 17, 2026}} ==See also== * [Academic dishonesty](/source/Academic_dishonesty) * [ChatGPT](/source/ChatGPT) ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== * {{Official website|https://cluely.com}} Category:2025 establishments in California Category:American companies established in 2025 Category:Artificial intelligence companies Category:Software companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area Category:Software companies established in 2025 Category:Privately held companies based in San Francisco --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Cluely](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cluely) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cluely?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.