A 21-year-old Columbia dropout built Cluely to help users “cheat on everything.” Now rebranded as a productivity tool, it’s facing scrutiny from critics and competition from Truely — an app by two Columbia students that detects stealth AI like Cluely during remote calls.
As KRON4 reports, San Francisco-based AI startup Cluely has been raising eyebrows — as well as $15 million in Series A funding led by Andreessen Horowitz — for marketing itself as a tool to “cheat on everything.” The company, founded by Roy Lee, the 21-year-old entrepreneur suspended from Columbia University for using Cluely’s predecessor to cheat on an Amazon coding test, originally promoted itself through provocative, “rage-bait” marketing tactics.
In response, two other Columbia students launched Truely, a rival app that claims to detect tools like Cluely during virtual meetings.
Cluely’s current product is described as an “invisible desktop assistant” that listens through microphones (including real-time calls and hidden Bluetooth devices), transcribes speech, identifies speakers, and provides real-time summaries and contextual feedback. Though marketed as a productivity tool for meetings, tutoring, and note-taking, Cluely has also promoted its usefulness for cheating on exams, faking interviews, and monitoring private conversations — though the company now claims those use cases are “not endorsed but often discussed.”
As Hoodline reports, Lee previously developed Interview Coder, an app designed to secretly help users during coding interviews. Cluely builds on that model but aims to expand into mainstream enterprise and consumer markets. Despite criticism, Lee says the “invisibility” feature is just a “nifty add-on,” noting that most enterprise users disable it due to legal risks. “We don’t care if we’re able to be detected or not,” he told TechCrunch.
Cluely recently dropped its original tagline, “cheat on everything,” and now describes itself with the slightly softened pitch: “Everything you need. Before you ask. … This feels like cheating.” Lee says the company is already profitable, with under a dozen employees working six days a week in-office. He’s also targeting a billion social media views as part of an aggressive growth strategy.
Meanwhile, Truely, launched by another Columbia student, claims it can detect unauthorized apps like Cluely during online meetings. Lee responded on X (formerly Twitter) by praising Truely and suggesting Cluely may prompt users to be more transparent about their use.
Though Cluely’s origins and tactics are controversial, investors like Bryan Kim of Andreessen Horowitz are still betting big. “We backed Roy early because he brings a rare mix of vision and fearlessness,” Kim told Business Insider.
Cluely’s rebrand hasn’t quieted concerns about surveillance, cheating, and AI misuse. It’s still unclear whether the startup will become a trusted productivity tool — or a warning about tech’s ethical limits.
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