# News Summary: Andreessen Horowitz Backs Controversial AI Startup ## News Metadata * **News Title**: Andreessen Horowitz Backs AI Startup With Slogan ‘Cheat at Everything’ * **News Type**: Startup/Business * **Report Provider**: Bloomberg.com * **Author**: Brunella Tipismana Urbano * **Date/Time Published**: 2025-06-21 00:31:07 * **Relevant News Identifiers**: * **URL**: `https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-06-21/andreessen-horowitz-backs-ai-startup-with-slogan-cheat-at-everything` * **Keywords**: ANDREESSEN HOROWITZ, Artificial Intelligence, Startups, Columbia University, Apps, Daniel Daniel, New York, Marc Lowell Andreessen, Adam Neumann, Engineering, technology ## Comprehensive Summary Andreessen Horowitz, a prominent venture capital firm, has led a **$15 million funding round** for a new artificial intelligence (AI) startup named **Cluely Inc.** This significant investment underscores a notable backing of a company with a highly controversial public image and a founder with a contentious past. **Key Details and Interpretation:** * **Funding Amount**: The **$15 million** investment signifies a substantial commitment from Andreessen Horowitz, indicating strong belief in Cluely Inc.'s potential despite its controversial nature. This figure suggests the startup has demonstrated a compelling vision or early traction to attract such a significant capital injection from a top-tier VC firm. * **Controversial Marketing**: Cluely Inc. has gained notoriety on social platforms like X (formerly Twitter) for its "controversial viral marketing stunts" and its provocative slogan, **“cheat on everything.”** This marketing strategy is designed to grab attention and potentially appeal to a segment of users, but it also raises ethical questions about the company's values and the applications of its AI technology. * **Founder's Background**: The startup was co-founded by **21-year-old Roy Lee**. Lee's background is particularly notable as he was "booted from Columbia University earlier this year" for creating an AI tool called **Interview Coder**. This tool was designed to help technical job candidates cheat on interviews using AI. His reaction to the expulsion, as shared on LinkedIn, was "I’m completely kicked out from school. LOL!", indicating a defiant or unconcerned attitude towards the academic disciplinary action. * **Implications**: The investment by Andreessen Horowitz in a startup with such a provocative slogan and a founder with a history of developing AI tools for cheating highlights a potential trend in venture capital where disruptive innovation, even if ethically ambiguous, is prioritized for its market potential or viral appeal. The firm's backing of Cluely Inc. suggests a calculated risk, betting on the company's ability to capitalize on its controversial image and AI capabilities to achieve rapid growth.
Andreessen Horowitz Backs AI Startup With Slogan ‘Cheat at Everything’
Read original at Bloomberg.com →Andreessen Horowitz led a $15 million funding round for an artificial intelligence startup called Cluely Inc., famous on social platforms like X for controversial viral marketing stunts and the slogan “cheat on everything.” The startup was co-founded by 21-year-old Roy Lee, who was booted from Columbia University earlier this year for creating a tool called Interview Coder that helped technical job candidates cheat on interviews using AI.
At the time, he wrote on LinkedIn, “I’m completely kicked out from school. LOL!”
