Columbia Student Unveils AI Cheating Tool to 'Cheat on Everything' After It Got Him Kicked Out of College

A former Columbia University student has raised $5.3 million to launch Cluely, a startup featuring an AI-powered cheating tool he created after being suspended for reportedly using it during job interviews and school assessments.

Chungin "Roy" Lee, 21, and co-founder Neel Shanmugam, also 21, developed a tool while attending Columbia that allowed users to secretly access AI assistance during live job interviews—specifically targeting technical interviews on platforms like LeetCode, TechCrunch reported.

Their tool, initially dubbed Interview Coder, led to disciplinary action at the university, resulting in both students ultimately dropping out. While the university declined to comment due to student privacy policies, the controversy gained attention online through a viral X thread shared by Lee.

Now launched as Cluely, the San Francisco-based startup markets its product as an all-purpose AI cheat assistant, useful not just for coding interviews but also exams, sales calls and more. The tool works via a hidden in-browser interface invisible to proctors or interviewers.

In its launch materials, Cluely provocatively frames its mission as a modern extension of tools like calculators and spellcheckers, claiming that "cheating" is just a misunderstood form of optimization. Their launch video, which was posted with the caption "cheat on everything," sparked both viral praise and harsh criticism, with some likening it to an episode of the science fiction series "Black Mirror."

Despite the backlash, Cluely has already surpassed $3 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR), according to Lee. Investors from Abstract Ventures and Susa Ventures have backed the startup, signaling strong interest even as ethical concerns swirl.