Cluely, a startup that helps ‘cheat on everything,’ raises $15M from a16z
Cluely has a startup that claims to help users with the ‘cheating’ of job interviews, exams and sales conversations, a series A of $ 15 million increased under the leadership of Andreessen Horowitz, the company announced on Friday with a video Posted on X.
Two investors who were not part of the deal tell WAN that they believe that Cluely’s appreciation after money is around $ 120 million. Andreessen Horowitz refused to comment on that figure. Cluely CEO Roy Lee did not respond to a request for comments.
Cluely’s new financing comes about two months after it collected $ 5.3 million In seed financing led by abstract companies and Susa Ventures.
The startup was founded earlier this year by 21-year-old Roy Lee and Neel Shanmugam, who were suspended at Columbia University for developing a non-detectable AI-driven tool called “Interview Coder” to help engineers play technical interviews.
Cluely is profitable, according to Lee’s several messages on X and Podcast performances.
Lee’s provocative presence on social media and highly produced controversial videos have contributed to the attention and creation of brand awareness for Cluely.
In April, for example, as WAN previously reported, Cluely published a slick but polarizing launch video from Lee with the help of a hidden AI assistant to lie against a woman about his age, and even his knowledge of art, on a date in a chic restaurant.
Earlier this week, Cluely hoped to throw a big after-party after the AI Startup School of Y Combinator, a two-day event. But the police closed the festivities after about 2,000 people tried to enter the location, Lee told WAN. After they arrived, he told TC: “We did something clean up, but the drinks all wait for the next party.”
