What began as a suspension from an Ivy League school has turned into a multi-million-dollar startup for 21-year-old Chungin “Roy” Lee, a former computer science student at Columbia University. Lee has raised $5.3 million (approximately Rs 44.3 crore) in seed funding for his new venture, Cluely—a platform designed to quietly assist users during interviews, exams, and other high-pressure scenarios using AI.
The idea for the company was born in controversy. Lee and his co-founder, Neel Shanmugam, created a tool called Interview Coder while still at Columbia. It allowed software engineering candidates to receive real-time help during technical interviews, particularly with solving LeetCode-style problems. The tool worked behind the scenes during virtual assessments, offering silent assistance that hiring managers couldn’t detect.
The project, while hailed by some as an innovative hack, sparked swift backlash. Columbia suspended both students, and companies like Amazon reportedly blacklisted Lee. But instead of walking away, the young entrepreneur doubled down.
With his university career cut short and the tech world divided on his methods, Lee rebranded the tool and launched Cluely, now headquartered in San Francisco. The platform has expanded its reach beyond job interviews. It now markets itself as a digital sidekick for just about anything—sales calls, exams, even day-to-day professional tasks—all happening through a discreet browser overlay invisible to others on a call or screen.
The startup’s messaging is defiant. In social media posts and on its website, Cluely compares itself to now-accepted tools like calculators and spellcheckers—once criticised, now indispensable. The startup’s funding round was led by Abstract Ventures and Susa Ventures, with participation from several individual investors. According to Lee, Cluely has already crossed $3 million in annual recurring revenue, signalling strong early demand, despite the backlash.
Cluely’s recent launch video, which featured Lee using the tool on a dinner date to bluff about his interests, drew both laughs and criticism. Some viewers compared it to a scene from Black Mirror. Others saw it as a provocative marketing stunt for an idea that’s clearly capturing attention, even if not everyone agrees with its ethics.
In interviews, Lee has framed Cluely not as a cheat code, but as a disruption to outdated systems. “Everyone told me to give up,” he wrote in a recent post. “But I believed in building something bigger. Swing big, or don’t swing at all.” Columbia University has declined to comment, citing student privacy rules. Amazon also refused to discuss Lee’s case directly, but emphasised that it expects interview candidates to avoid unauthorised assistance.
While critics argue Cluely undermines trust and integrity in hiring and education, its creators insist they’re pushing for a new kind of fairness, one that acknowledges how stressful and rigid conventional assessments can be.