Cluely Offers Engineers Up To $1 Million, Designers Up To $350K In Hiring Push After Raising $15 Million
Cluely, an AI startup, is making waves with its hiring approach, offering engineers up to $1 million and designers between $250,000 and $350,000.
What Happened: Chungin “Roy” Lee, CEO and co-founder of Cluely, announced the lucrative compensation packages on LinkedIn, stating that the San Francisco-based startup is on the hunt for “world-class” talent, according to a report by Business Insider.
Cluely, which has positioned itself as a tool to help users “cheat on everything,” has strayed from conventional startup hiring practices. Rather than offering below-market salaries with more equity, Lee advocates for high cash compensation to attract top-notch talent.
Lee disclosed that he has reviewed approximately 1,200 out of 2,000 applications for a founding designer position and about 3,000 applications for founding engineers.
Cluely, which recently raised $15 million in a funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz, aims to assemble a small, nimble team of exceptional individuals. Lee’s ultimate ambition for Cluely is to achieve 1 billion views across all platforms.
“As soon as I find something wrong with it, I’ll reject them,” said Lee about the portfolio review.
Why It Matters: Cluely, a provocative AI startup, was born from academic controversy and closed a $5.3 million seed round led by Abstract Ventures and Susa Ventures in April before its $15 million round in June.
The company’s core product is a real-time, invisible AI assistant that operates through a hidden browser overlay, providing users with live answers during interviews, coding tests, exams, and even meetings.
In June 2025, Cluely’s CEO attempted to host an after-party for attendees of Y Combinator’s AI Startup School, which was shut down by San Francisco police before it could even start.
Cluely’s aggressive hiring strategy comes amid a broader trend in venture financing. AI and machine learning startups have secured a significant share of venture debt, accounting for more than a third of the $30 billion deployed across the U.S. and Europe.
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