The startup world has been rocked by a fresh controversy as AI startup Cluely, renowned for its in-browser window that analyzes online dialogues, causes a stir with the bold proclamation that their 'undetectability' feature allows users to "cheat on everything."

The co-creator of the company, Roy Lee, famously received a suspension from Columbia University after admitting he used Cluely (previously known as Interview Coder) to get an unfair advantage during a coding exam, which was part of his application process for a developer role at Amazon.

Then, on Tuesday, one of Lee's peers at Columbia University, Patrick Shen, made the announcement via X that he had developed Truely, a tool created to trip up the "cheaters" using Cluely. Presenting itself as an antidote to Cluely, Truely proposes that it has the capability to identify when unapproved applications are being used by interviewees or participants in online meetings.

Regardless, the launch of Truely didn't unsettle Lee.

“The invisibility function is simply a neat extra, not the main focus of Cluely," said Lee in a chat with TechCrunch. "Owing to legal factors, many businesses actually deactivate the invisibility feature. We couldn't care less about our detectability. ”

In response to Shen's announcement on X, Lee lauded Truely, with a suggestion that Cluely "will probably start motivating our users to be much more transparent about their usage."

After bagging a tidy $15 million Series A from renowned venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz last month, Cluely has pivoted its marketing outlook from trumpeting ‘cheating’ to shifting its slogan from “cheat on everything” to “Everything You Need. Before You Ask. … This feels like cheating."

Cluely, a company known for its unabashed so-called rage-bait marketing, now seems to have hoodwinked us into viewing its technology as a tool for cheating.

However, with far-reaching plans, Lee aims to position Cluely as a ChatGPT alternative. “Cluely functions much like ChatGPT—with the added advantage of knowing what's on your screen and hearing your audio. Ideally, whenever you'd think of ChatGPT, you'd reach for Cluely," Lee shared.