Student's AI Cheating App Sparks Suspension, Then Attracts $5.3M Investment
23 April 2025 路 Uncategorized 路
Li Xiaojie, a 21-year-old Columbia University student, recently secured over $5.3 million in seed funding from venture capital firms Abstract Ventures and Susa Ventures despite being suspended by the university for developing an artificial intelligence tool designed to facilitate cheating on exams or during job interviews.
The AI tool operates through a hidden browser window undetectable by interviewers or examiners, providing real-time advice based on specific scenarios. Xiao Li demonstrated its capabilities with examples including using it as a dating assistant to receive tailored responses.
The development of such tools has ignited controversy regarding their potential for misuse; shortly after the tool鈥檚 creation, Columbia University took disciplinary action against him, leading to his withdrawal from university and focus on developing Cluely (originally named Interview Coder).
Xiao Li claims he utilized the AI software during technical interviews with Amazon and subsequently received an internship offer. A video documenting these events was later removed due to copyright concerns.
Cluely鈥檚 founders are Chungin Lee, a classmate of Xiao Li's, and Neel Shanmugam. Xiao Li serves as CEO while Neel is COO. Prior to securing funding, the trio faced disciplinary action from Columbia University for developing this tool, resulting in several weeks of intervention meetings before their suspension.
The emergence of Cluely follows similar news surrounding Mechanize, a company founded by Tamay Besiroglu鈥攆ormerly a full-time research scientist at MIT鈥攚hich aims to fully automate jobs with AI agents and has raised ethical concerns about replacing human employees entirely.
The AI tool operates through a hidden browser window undetectable by interviewers or examiners, providing real-time advice based on specific scenarios. Xiao Li demonstrated its capabilities with examples including using it as a dating assistant to receive tailored responses.
The development of such tools has ignited controversy regarding their potential for misuse; shortly after the tool鈥檚 creation, Columbia University took disciplinary action against him, leading to his withdrawal from university and focus on developing Cluely (originally named Interview Coder).
Xiao Li claims he utilized the AI software during technical interviews with Amazon and subsequently received an internship offer. A video documenting these events was later removed due to copyright concerns.
Cluely鈥檚 founders are Chungin Lee, a classmate of Xiao Li's, and Neel Shanmugam. Xiao Li serves as CEO while Neel is COO. Prior to securing funding, the trio faced disciplinary action from Columbia University for developing this tool, resulting in several weeks of intervention meetings before their suspension.
The emergence of Cluely follows similar news surrounding Mechanize, a company founded by Tamay Besiroglu鈥攆ormerly a full-time research scientist at MIT鈥攚hich aims to fully automate jobs with AI agents and has raised ethical concerns about replacing human employees entirely.