Two Columbia University computer science dropouts have secured $5.3 million in seed funding for Cluely AI, a real-time assistance tool that's sparking heated debates about academic integrity. The startup, founded by 21-year-olds Chungin "Roy" Lee and Neel Shanmugam, uses advanced screen capture and local AI processing to deliver undetectable support during exams, interviews, and professional assessments. Backed by Abstract Ventures and Susa Ventures, Cluely has already generated $3M ARR since its April 2025 launch, with TechCrunch calling it "the calculator moment for Gen-Z professionals".
1. From Academic Misconduct to Silicon Valley Success
The origins of Cluely AI trace back to January 2025, when Roy Lee developed an interview cheating tool that helped him secure an Amazon internship. After facing disciplinary action from Columbia University, Lee and co-founder Neel Shanmugam dropped out and joined San Francisco's Z Fellows accelerator. The current version of Cluely features three core capabilities:
✔️ Real-time exam solutions via OCR screen capture
✔️ AI-generated interview answers through local Whisper processing
✔️ Undetectable text injection mimicking human typing patterns
Technical Architecture: How It Evades Detection
Unlike browser-based competitors, Cluely operates at the system level using:
1. ScreenCaptureKit API: Captures low-resolution screen frames to bypass proctoring software
2. Local LLM Processing: Runs quantized Mistral-7B models for answer generation
3. SwiftUI Overlays: Displays solutions in system-level windows invisible to remote observers
2. The Ethics Debate: Innovation vs. Integrity
🚩 Educator Concerns
Columbia's CS Department Chair Dr. Amelia Chen states: "Tools like Cluely undermine assessment validity. We're developing blockchain-based proctoring systems in response".
🤖 Founder Defense
Lee counters: "Just as calculators changed math education, AI assistance will force industries to value critical thinking over memorization".
Market Traction & Business Model
Despite controversies, Cluely has attracted 18,000 active users with:
✔️ $20/month individual subscription
✔️ $100/seat enterprise package
✔️ Free trial offering 5 "assistance credits"
3. Investor Perspective: Why VCs Backed the Controversy
Abstract Ventures partner Mark Johnson explains their investment: "The core technology powering Cluely has legitimate applications in remote work training and customer support". Key metrics driving investor confidence include:
"Cluely's revenue grew faster than ChatGPT's early trajectory - that signals fundamental market need."
– TechCrunch Startup Analyst
Key Takeaways
➤ $5.3M seed round from top-tier Silicon Valley investors
➤ macOS-native architecture evading current detection methods
➤ Active debate about redefining professional competency metrics
➤ Planned expansion into real-time language translation Q3 2025
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