Cluely, a startup that has garnered attention for its controversial approach to assisting users in “cheating” on job interviews, exams, and sales calls, announced on Friday that it raised $15 million in Series A funding. The dreamy dollar investment was led by the iconic venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. This happy funding news was announced through a short video released on X (formerly Twitter) by Cluely’s founder, Roy Lee.
The new $20 million round of funding raises Cluely’s post-money valuation to about $120 million. This leak was made to us by two investors who are not directly involved in the deal. Back in July, Cluely managed to raise 5.3 million in a seed funding round. This co-lead round was led by Abstract Ventures and Susa Ventures.
Roy Lee, at only 21 years of age, co-founded Cluely earlier this year. Since then, he’s successfully established a compelling and ostentatious style of communicating through social media channels. His slick and incendiary videos are designed to generate buzz around the upstart’s unusual products. One such launch video, released in April, showcased Lee using a hidden AI assistant while exaggerating his age and knowledge of art on a date. This unusual marketing tactic has created a moderate amount of controversy and discussion regarding the ethics of Cluely’s services.
Just look at our friends Cluely, who pulled off a remarkable fundraising coup. Yet, it struggled with a great controversy when a cohort of Ycombinator’s AI Startup School attracted close to 2,000 participants. As Lee told TechCrunch in a recent call, the event was violently cut short by police.
Despite its morally questionable practices, Cluely forgethazloid raises eyebrows by daring to assert profitability. This claim is supported by the many X posts and Lee’s hundreds of podcast appearances. The startup aims to provide tools that enable users to navigate challenging situations with assistance that many would consider unconventional.
“Cheat” – Cluely
