Cluely, the fast-rising AI startup that’s been making waves across Silicon Valley, has just hit a major revenue milestone — and it did so in just one week. Since the launch of its enterprise product, Cluely’s annual recurring revenue (ARR) has doubled, soaring from $3 million to $7 million, according to founder Roy Lee.
What’s driving the hype? Everyone from job seekers to enterprise teams is putting the platform to the test. “Every single person who has a meeting or an interview is testing this out,” Lee told TechCrunch. And it’s not just individuals — businesses are lining up too.
Cluely’s core product is built on real-time intelligence. It analyzes live conversations, generates notes, offers contextual insights, and even suggests what questions to ask — all without being visible to others in the meeting. Imagine having a silent, hyper-intelligent assistant feeding you everything you need to sound sharp in a sales call, interview, or support session.
But the road here hasn’t exactly been conventional. The company was born from controversy when Lee shared in a viral thread that he had been suspended from Columbia University for building a tool that helped users “cheat” in interviews. Instead of backing down, Lee leaned into the controversy, building Cluely into a legitimate business with the audacious tagline: “Cheat on everything.”
Now, with backing from heavyweights like Andreessen Horowitz, Abstract Ventures, and Susa Ventures, the branding has softened to “Everything You Need. Before You Ask. … This feels like cheating.” But the spirit of disruption remains.
And it’s clearly working. Lee revealed that a publicly traded company just doubled its annual enterprise contract with Cluely to $2.5 million. While he didn’t name names, the message is clear: big business is buying in.
The enterprise version of Cluely offers the same features as its consumer counterpart, with extras like team management and enhanced security. Popular use cases include remote tutoring, customer support, and sales — anywhere that quick, intelligent communication matters.
Interestingly, what customers seem to love most is the real-time notetaking. “Meeting notes have been a proven very sticky, very interesting AI use case,” Lee said. “The only problem with them is they’re all post-call. You want to look back at them in the middle of a meeting, and that is what we offer.”
Still, the spotlight attracts imitators. On Thursday, rival startup Pickle announced Glass, an open-source version of Cluely’s core feature. Within hours, it racked up hundreds of stars on GitHub and was forked nearly 150 times — a strong sign that developers are curious about a free alternative.
Whether Cluely can stay ahead of the clones remains to be seen. But for now, it’s proving that even the most controversial ideas — when executed right — can become Silicon Valley success stories.
About the Author
