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Cluely's Explosive Growth: $7M ARR & Rising Competition

Cansin Cengiz

03 Jul 2025 — 2 min read

Cluely, a Silicon Valley startup that has garnered significant attention, recently announced a monumental surge in its annual recurring revenue (ARR), doubling to an impressive $7 million in just one week. This explosive growth follows the launch of its new enterprise product, as confirmed by founder Roy Lee.

Cluely's Innovative Edge

At its core, Cluely leverages artificial intelligence to revolutionize online conversations. Its products provide users with real-time notes, contextual insights, and even suggest pertinent questions to ask, all displayed discreetly on the user's screen. According to Lee, "Every single person who has a meeting or an interview is testing this out," indicating widespread interest from both consumers and businesses.

Before this latest launch, Lee had already reported the company's ARR exceeding $3 million and achieving profitability, setting the stage for its current rapid expansion.

A Journey Forged in Controversy

Cluely's origin story is as unconventional as its technology. Founder Roy Lee and his co-founder initially developed a tool designed to "cheat" on job interviews for software engineers, a venture that controversially led to Lee's suspension from Columbia University. Undeterred, Lee transformed this contentious technology into the foundation of Cluely.

Initially, the startup embraced a provocative marketing tagline: "cheat on everything." However, with significant backing from prominent venture capital firms like Andreessen Horowitz, Abstract Ventures, and Susa Ventures, Cluely has refined its messaging to "Everything you Need. Before you ask. … This feels like cheating." This strategic shift, coupled with its "rage-bait marketing," has cemented Cluely's status as a Silicon Valley sensation.

Despite its controversial past, businesses are actively engaging with Cluely's offerings. Lee revealed that a public company recently doubled its annual contract with Cluely to $2.5 million, underscoring the enterprise market's demand for their solutions.

Enterprise Expansion and Key Features

The enterprise version of Cluely's product builds upon its consumer offering with enhanced features such as team management and advanced security settings. Its applications span various business use cases, including optimizing sales calls, streamlining customer support, and facilitating remote tutoring.

Lee highlights Cluely's real-time note-taking capability as its most compelling feature. Unlike competitors whose notes are typically post-call, Cluely allows users to access and review information during the meeting itself. "Meeting notes have been a proven very sticky, very interesting AI use case," Lee explained. "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."

The Looming Competitive Threat

Cluely's meteoric rise has not gone unnoticed. The competitive landscape is intensifying, with companies like Pickle introducing "Glass," an open-source, free product that mirrors much of Cluely's real-time functionality. Glass has quickly gained traction within the open-source developer community, evidenced by over 850 stars and nearly 150 forks shortly after its release.

The coming months will reveal whether Cluely's rapid ascent can withstand the challenge posed by free, open-source alternatives. Its ability to innovate and maintain its market lead amidst rising competition will be crucial.