Who is Soham Parekh, the Indian techie accused of moonlighting by US startups?

India Today

6 hours ago

An Indian engineer is at the centre of a controversy in Silicon Valley, after several US-based startup founders publicly accused him of moonlighting at multiple companies without disclosure.Soham Parekh, who is believed to be based in India, is alleged to have simultaneously worked at up to four or five startups—many of them backed by Y Combinator—raising questions about hiring practices in remote-first tech culture.advertisementThe controversy began when Suhail Doshi, founder of Playground AI and former CEO of analytics firm Mixpanel, posted a public warning on X (formerly Twitter). 'PSA: there's a guy named Soham Parekh (in India) who works at 3–4 startups at the same time. He's been preying on YC companies and more. Beware,' Doshi wrote.
Doshi said Parekh had briefly joined Playground AI last year but was fired within a week after his dual employment came to light. Doshi also shared what he claimed was Parekh's CV, which listed companies like Dynamo AI, Union AI, Synthesia, and Alan AI among his past employers. He alleged that most of the rsum was likely '90% fake.'advertisementOther founders came forward with similar experiences. Flo Crivello, founder of Lindy, said his team had hired Parekh just a week earlier. 'Fired this morning,' he wrote. 'He did so incredibly well in interviews, must have a lot of training.' Nicolai Ouporov, CEO of Fleet AI, confirmed Parekh had worked with them as well, adding that he had 'been doing this for years.'
Matthew Parkhurst, CEO of Antimetal, also weighed in. He described Parekh as 'really smart and likeable,' but said they let him go after discovering his multi-company commitments. 'Hiring Soham is a new rite of passage tbh. Any great company should go through it,' Parkhurst joked.Michelle Lim, Head of Product at Warp, added that Parekh had been hired for a work trial, which was immediately cancelled once the accusations surfaced.So far, Parekh has not made a public statement, but according to Doshi, he reached out privately. In a message shared by Doshi, Parekh appeared to express regret: 'Asking this as genuine advice... Have I completely sabotaged my career? What can I do to improve my situation? I am also happy to come clean.'
According to his CV, Parekh holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Mumbai and a master's from Georgia Institute of Technology. However, the authenticity of these claims is now under scrutiny.As the thread gained traction, it also sparked wider conversations online—about remote hiring, lax background checks, and the ethics of moonlighting in the tech industry. While some questioned how a single engineer could take on so many roles, others remarked on his apparent skill at interviews.One social media user who claimed to have worked with Parekh said, 'When he works, yes. I saw him taking on a task and finishing in an hour when it'd take at least three for other engineers.'For a handful of Silicon Valley startups, hiring Soham Parekh was a lesson learned the hard way.- Ends