News Summary

Chungin ‘Roy’ Lee, a former Columbia University student, has raised $5.3 million in seed funding for his AI startup, Cluely. The funding was secured from Abstract Ventures and Susa Ventures. Cluely’s tool, which started as ‘Interview Coder,’ allows users to ‘cheat’ on various tasks such as exams and job interviews by using a hidden in-browser AI assistant. The startup, co-founded by another ex-Columbia student Neel Shanmugam, has generated a mixed reaction with its promotional video and claims of $3 million in ARR. Both founders were suspended from Columbia due to the tool, and they have since dropped out.