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Cluely AI: Interview Cheater or Game-Changing Assistant? The $15M Funding & $120M Valuation Story

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Three young male founders of Cluely AI, standing in front of a bright neon 'Cluely' sign. Overlay text reads 'They Built a $120M AI Empire. after suspended from Columbia University'
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Cluely AI, developed by Chungin “Roy” Lee and Neel Shanmugam, is a real-time, context-aware AI assistant designed for online interactions, including interviews and meetings. Initially controversial due to its use in a high-profile Amazon interview, which led to the founders' suspension from Columbia University, Cluely AI has successfully pivoted. It secured $15 million in Series A funding, highlighting investor confidence in its potential to boost professional efficiency, reduce cognitive load, and serve as a powerful training tool, pushing the boundaries of AI integration in the workplace.

Have you ever imagined about giving an online interview for a software engineer position and then crack the interview with a real-time hidden assistance tool developed by yourself And not just for a startup or a random company but for a multimillion-dollar company like Amazon.

But the twist comes when you post the news of your unconventional interview method on social media and become a viral sensation through out the controversy. And using this popularity, you even manage to raise $15M in Series A funding round for your startup.

This isn’t a made-up movie story, it’s a real story of two young boy Chungin “Roy” Lee and Neel Shanmugam who were suspended from a popular institution like Columbia University for creating tools like ‘Interview Coder’.

What is Cluely AI

Cluely AI is a real-time, context-aware AI assistant designed to enhance performance during online interactions. It acts as an “overlay” tool, silently monitoring your screen and audio in live meetings, sales calls or interviews. Cluely AI provides instant, relevant suggestions, data and coaching, aiming to boost productivity and reduce cognitive load.

A key aspect of its design is that it often remains hidden from other participants even when a user shares their screen. This feature is tied to its initial claims of being “undetectable,” allowing it to offer real-time assistance without drawing attention. Also they’ve made a promotional video on it, you can find it below

Initially controversial for crack an interview in an unconventional way. Cluely AI founded by Roy Lee and Neel Shanmugam, has since shifted its focus to promoting its legitimate use as an AI copilot for professional efficiency and skill development, pushing the boundaries of AI integration in the workplace.

Cluely AI: From Controversy to Capital

Cluely AI’s story begin with two young students Roy Lee and Neel Shanmugam who developed their own tool named “Interview Coder”, It was specifically designed to assist software engineering students or candidates during technical coding interviews. The idea was to provide real-time AI-generated code snippets or solutions to coding problems presented during the interview.

“Interview Coder” gained popularity because of Roy Lee openly shared on social media that he used such a tool to pass an interview for a major tech company like Amazon. This act led to his and Neel Shanmugam’s suspension from Columbia University.

“Interview Coder” was designed as precursor or an early iteration of the technology that later evolved into Cluely AI. While Cluely AI has a few more upgraded integration like meetings, sales calls, general productivity, “Interview Coder” was focused specifically as a technical interview assistant.

Cluely AI’s founder Roy Lee quickly got attention from investors after his company became very popular on social media. Investors were impressed by his rare and unique approach along with his vision for Cluely AI’s future.

Because of this Cluely AI received a large investment: $15 million in a Series A funding round. Bryan Kim, a partner at Andreessen Horowitz and a main investor told Business Insider that Roy Lee is “a founder with the boldness to rethink what’s possible.” This shows how much they support Lee’s unusual ideas. Kim also said, “We backed Roy early because he brings a rare mix of vision and fearlessness,” meaning investors believed in Cluely AI’s potential to change things and Lee’s unique drive.

This big Series A funding wasn’t Cluely AI’s first success. Before this, they had already received a $5.3 million seed investment. This early funding round was led by two well-known companies, Abstract Ventures and Susa Ventures.

The company and Andreessen Horowitz have not officially confirmed it, but two investors who wished to remain anonymous told TechCrunch that they think Cluely AI is currently worth about $120 million.

Beyond the Hype: The Positive Sides of Cluely AI

After the controversies everyone knows that it’s a software for cheat everything. But It has also many positive sides like

Conclusion: Cluely AI – A Complex Innovation

Cluely AI is a new kind of tool that might sound like it helps you “cheat on everything.” But that’s not really true. This strong phrase was used in their ads just to get people to notice them in a busy market of AI tools. It doesn’t mean they want you to be dishonest. Instead, Cluely is about using smart AI to help you work much faster and get help right away when you’re talking online.

Cluely is powerful. It watches your screen and listens to you talk. Then, it quickly gives you helpful ideas and facts based on what’s happening. This changes how you do things. It can help you do great in a sales call, get through a tough meeting or ace an interview. It gives you a quick smart boost.

Like any strong tool, from a simple calculator to the internet itself, Cluely AI has good points and bad points. How good or bad it is truly depends on how you decide to use its features. It gives you information and ideas, making you better and faster. Where to draw the line on what’s fair, how much you let it help you and how it shapes your work life are all choices you make. Cluely is here to help you do more not to take your place. How much of an impact it has will depend on how wisely you use its power.

Image source : Business Insider

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