Inside a16z’s $15M Bet on Cluely: Lead Investor Bryan Kim Reveals All

Sourcery - A podcast by Sourcery with Molly O'Shea

Categories:

Bryan Kim, Partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), focuses on early-stage investments in consumer and application-layer AI. He has invested in some of the most prolific consumer companies like: Captions, ElevenLabs, BeReal, Function Health, and more.

One of his recent investments is viral phenomenon, Cluely, a controversial San Francisco-based AI startup founded by Roy Lee. Cluely has raised over $20M to date, with their most recent $15M investment from Bryan at a16z. Cluely is building an invisible desktop assistant to help you “cheat on everything.”

We talk about:

• The wild backstory behind investing in Cluely & ElevenLabs

• Why he calls momentum “the moat” in the AI era

• What it takes to raise a Series A today

• How context makes AI products infinitely better, and harder to replace

Brought to you by:

Brex—The modern finance platform, combining the world’s smartest corporate card with integrated expense management, banking, bill pay, and travel. As a Sourcery listener, you can unlock up to $500 toward Brex travel or $300 in cash back, plus exclusive perks to help you move even faster: https://brex.com/sourcery

Kalshi—The largest prediction market and the only legal platform in the US where people can trade directly on the outcomes of future events: https://kalshi.com/sourcery

Fourthwall—The #1 way to sell merch online — Fourthwall is the easiest way to launch a fully branded merch store—used by big brands like MKBHD, Acquired, & even the Smithsonian. 100+ products. No upfront cost. Visit Fourthwall to start today: https://fourthwall.com/

Follow Sourcery for the latest updates!

https://www.sourcery.vc/

Connect with us:

1. Bryan Kim: https://x.com/kirbyman01

2. Molly O’Shea: https://x.com/MollySOShea

3. Sourcery: https://x.com/sourceryvc

(00:00) Trailer

(01:04) Welcome Bryan Kim & Cluely Intro

(02:26) How Bryan Met Roy Lee

(07:00) The $15M Bet On Cluely

(09:58) Cluely’s Hype Media Strategy

(14:18) Momentum Is The Moat