Cluely, the splashy AI outfit that once bragged it could help users “cheat on everything,” says it is packing up its San Francisco operation and heading for New York. The company has put its three floors of SoMa office space on the market, blaming local zoning rules and a pivot toward consumer-facing content for the move. It is a dramatic turn for a startup that has spent recent months churning out viral launch clips, hosting off-the-books parties, and rapidly hiring influencers, all of which have helped turn its Bryant Street home into a neighborhood spectacle.
According to The San Francisco Standard, CEO Chungin “Roy” Lee confirmed that Cluely is trying to unload all three floors of its Bryant Street headquarters. Lee said the building is zoned strictly for offices, which means “it’s illegal to live and work in the building.” He told the outlet that “Work-live … is extremely important to the company” and argued that “New York is a stronger location for consumer startups and content creation,” though he did not offer a concrete timeline for when the move might actually happen.
Pivot and product doubts
At TechCrunch Disrupt last month, Lee acknowledged that the company’s product has not quite kept pace with its hype, saying “maybe we launched too early,” as reported by TechCrunch. Cluely has since attempted to reposition part of its offering as an AI meeting assistant that handles note-taking and follow-up messages, positioning itself in a crowded niche where turning viral buzz into stable subscription revenue is a much tougher sell.
Office up for sale
A commercial listing on LoopNet shows the Bryant Street property as being on the market, signaling that Cluely is actively seeking to offload its SoMa space. Earlier coverage in The San Francisco Standard described the three-story building as a live-work style content hub, where several staffers reportedly slept at the office. Details of this arrangement were later incorporated into a complaint to city planners by nearby residents.
Legal questions
The San Francisco Planning Department notes that neighborhood complaints are logged and reviewed through formal workflows. Its public guidance explains how permits and complaints move through the system. According to those materials, the process can involve notices to correct and other enforcement steps while a case is under review. Whether the complaint tied to the Bryant Street address results in fines or other penalties will depend on what planners find in their investigation.
What’s next
Cluely’s planned cross-country reset, fueled by a high-profile venture check, will test whether a noise-first, attention-chasing strategy can harden into a lasting product business. The startup raised a $15 million round led by Andreessen Horowitz earlier this year, according to Business Insider, and its founders say they are targeting a sweet spot where creators and everyday consumers overlap. For San Francisco, the outcome is more straightforward: one of SoMa’s loudest and most polarizing tenants is shrinking its local footprint and sending a prominent property on Bryant Street back into play.
