Viral AI 'cheating' startup Cluely is offering engineers up to $1M and $350K for designers: 'Please be world-class'

In a striking move to build a top-tier team, Cluely, an innovative AI startup, is offering lucrative salaries to attract talented engineers and designers. The company's CEO and co-founder, Chungin 'Roy' Lee, announced via LinkedIn that they are willing to pay up to $1 million annually for engineers and between $250,000 and $350,000 for designers, alongside equity options. This compensation package stands in stark contrast to typical salary ranges in the tech industry, where entry-level engineers in San Francisco typically earn around $75,000 and senior engineers can make up to $235,000. For designers, junior roles usually start at $80,000, with senior positions ranging from $100,000 to $172,000. Lee challenged the conventional wisdom of underpaying startup employees, asserting that in order to excel, a startup must be exceptional in all areas, including compensation. Founded earlier this year, Cluely originally aimed to assist software engineers in job interviews but has since removed references to that controversial service from its website. The startup markets itself as an 'undetectable' AI tool that provides real-time answers by monitoring users' screens. Recently, Cluely secured $15 million in funding led by Andreessen Horowitz. Lee is personally reviewing every application, having simplified the process by eliminating fields that do not relate directly to candidates' portfolios. He emphasized his focus on the quality of work rather than traditional metrics like educational background or experience. To date, he has sifted through around 1,200 of the 2,000 applications for a founding designer and approximately 3,000 for founding engineers, with a rigorous selection process that allows only 1 in every 100 portfolios to progress to the interview stage. Lee envisions a lean team of 'killers' rather than a large workforce, echoing sentiments from other startup founders who advocate for smaller teams to drive rapid innovation. He believes that Cluely must achieve significant visibility on platforms like Instagram and TikTok to succeed, aiming for a staggering 1 billion views across all social media channels. As the landscape of startups shifts, the trend towards maintaining compact, efficient teams looks set to continue, potentially leading to highly valued companies emerging from small operations.