This is NOT your typical startup story

Meet Chungin “Roy” Lee – the 21-year-old college dropout who just turned his academic suspension into a $5.3 million payday. His crime? Building an AI tool so powerful Columbia University couldn’t handle it. His reward? A Silicon Valley funding war.

“They called it cheating. We call it evolution.”

Cluely Manifesto

The Tool That Broke The System

What started as “Interview Coder” – an AI side project to game technical interviews – has exploded into Cluely: The startup that’s rewriting the rules of competition. Their secret weapon? A hidden in-browser window that gives users:

• Real-time exam answers during tests
• AI-powered coaching during sales calls
• Instant coding solutions in job interviews

From Campus Outcast to Tech Provocateur

Lee and co-founder Neel Shanmugan didn’t just break Columbia’s rules – they built a business model around it. After:

• Landing an Amazon internship using their own tool
• Getting suspended for academic integrity violations
• Watching their viral X thread explode

They did what any true disruptors would do – dropped out and raised millions from Abstract Ventures and Susa Ventures.

The Black Mirror Controversy

Cluely’s launch video featuring Lee using AI to lie on a date sparked firestorms across tech Twitter:

“This isn’t innovation – it’s the opening scene of a dystopian nightmare.”

Tech Ethics Professor on X

Yet the controversy only fueled growth – hitting $3M ARR this month. Because in today’s cutthroat world, some see cheating as the ultimate competitive advantage.

The New Arms Race

Cluely joins a wave of boundary-pushing AI startups including one with the explicit goal of replacing human workers. The message is clear:

• The old rules don’t apply
• Institutions can’t keep up
• Those who adapt fastest win

Amazon may prohibit these tools, but as Lee proved – the real test isn’t what you know, but what you can get away with.