Columbia dropouts launch Cluely, an AI tool designed for cheating in interviews and exams

Two Columbia University dropouts have created an AI tool designed explicitly for cheating on job interviews, exams, and calls. Cluely, an undetectable desktop assistant that overlays on users’ screens, represents a bold and controversial challenge to conventional notions of fairness and merit in academic and professional settings—forcing questions about how society will adapt to increasingly sophisticated AI assistance tools.

The big picture: Cluely positions itself as an undetectable cheating tool that runs as a translucent window visible only to the user, even during screen sharing.

• The tool “sees your screen and hears your audio” according to the company website, providing AI-generated responses to any questions during interviews, exams, or calls.
• While a limited version is available for free, the pro version with more powerful AI models costs $20 monthly or $100 annually.

What they’re saying: The company’s manifesto brazenly embraces its purpose as a cheating tool while arguing it follows a historical pattern of technological normalization.

• “Yes, the world will call it cheating,” the manifesto reads. “But so was the calculator. So was spellcheck. So was Google.”
• The manifesto continues: “Every time technology makes us smarter, the world panics. Then it adapts. Then it forgets. And suddenly, it’s normal.”

Behind the scenes: Co-founders Chungin “Roy” Lee and Neel Shanmugam were suspended from Columbia University last month for using their own tool to cheat on schoolwork.

• Lee publicly shared his suspension letter on X, along with a letter from an Amazon executive who had initially offered him an SDE internship before discovering his cheating tool through a YouTube video.
• According to the university’s student newspaper, both founders have since dropped out of Columbia to focus on the company, assuming CEO and COO positions respectively.

By the numbers: The controversial startup has already raised $5.3 million to further develop its technology, suggesting some investors see potential in the ethically questionable tool.

The bottom line: Cluely represents a direct challenge to traditional assessment methods across education and employment, potentially accelerating discussions about how institutions should adapt evaluation practices in an era of increasingly sophisticated AI assistance tools.