Columbia University Student Suspended for Creating AI Tool, Gets Rs 44.3 Crore Fund

A Columbia University student who faces suspension for building an Artificial Intelligence (AI) tool to cheat technical interviews has received a huge investment to expand his business idea even bigger and bolder. According to reports, 21-year-old Chungin Lee created an AI-based technology that helped users crack interviews based on coding platforms like LeetCode in real time. 

The computer science student has secured funding of $5.3 million (Rs 44.3 crore approximately). His Interview Coder was designed to help students while running invisibly during live assessments for big tech firms like Amazon, Meta and TikTok. 

I just got kicked out of Columbia for taking a stand against Leetcode interviews.

Here's the whole story (long thread): pic.twitter.com/Q7LPWjwyA7

— Roy (@im_roy_lee) March 27, 2025

"I just got kicked out of Columbia for taking a stand against Leetcode interviews," Lee said in a post on X. Lee was suspended by Columbia University and blacklisted by Amazon. He was also called as 'cheater' by netizens online. But instead of backing down, he got a double boost after the backlash turned into momentum. Lee has launched an AI startup, 'Cluely', in-browser support for everything from exams to sales calls to job interviews. 

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$5 million to change the definition of the word "cheating"https://t.co/rJuDbS1eC5https://t.co/BMbBnz1fTE

— Roy (@im_roy_lee) April 21, 2025

Lee, in a post on X by giving answer for those who branded him as a internet 'cheater' said, "$5 million to change the definition of the word 'cheating'."

He reposted a post by his firm's X handle, which reads, "They called calculators cheating. They called Google cheating. The world will say the same about AI. We're not stopping. We just raised a $5.3M pre-seed to build the future—faster."