Why Indian techie Soham Parekh, accused of moonlighting, is trending on Twitter? Memes go viral amid Microsoft layoff
Soham Parekh
. The Indian-origin techie has become the face of a viral meme storm after allegations surfaced that he had been simultaneously employed at multiple US startups. The news set tech Twitter ablaze, turning Parekh into an unlikely anti-hero of Silicon Valley's hustle culture.
The controversy erupted when Mixpanel founder Suhail Doshi took to X to issue a public warning to fellow entrepreneurs:
— Suhail (@Suhail)
Doshi posted screenshots of Parekh's impressive résumé, which includes a Bachelor's in computer engineering from the University of Mumbai with a stellar 9.83 GPA and a Master's in computer science from Georgia Tech. He claimed Parekh had been caught juggling roles at multiple companies under the radar—an audacious feat in the era of remote work.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
Play War Thunder now for free
War Thunder
Play Now
Undo
As the story spread, so did the memes.
LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman cheekily joined in and wondered what Soham Parekh's LinkedIn header might say.
— reidhoffman (@reidhoffman)
A user imagined the scene: it's Soham Parekh gearing up for the day, ready to check in across multiple jobs.
— VCBrags (@VCBrags)
Another post claimed to humourously reveal the real story behind Soham Parekh — highlighting how he reportedly aces interviews with ease, delegates most of the work to junior staff, and essentially operates a small development agency with over 20 interns and employees.
— pritika_mehta (@pritika_mehta)
But the memes didn't stop there. In light of Microsoft's announcement of 9,000 job cuts this week, one user joked that all those roles might have belonged to just one person, Soham Parekh.
— growing_daniel (@growing_daniel)
Another hilarious meme post featured a heart emoji with the caption Are we hiring the same engineer?—a tongue-in-cheek jab at the idea that multiple startups might have unknowingly hired Soham as an employee.
— bharaatobama (@bharaatobama)
A parody account even joined the conversation, poking fun at the double standards in tech — pointing out how
Elon Musk
can run multiple startups and Jamie Dimon can serve on several boards, but when someone like Soham does it, it's suddenly labeled a 'scam.'
— phantomthread_d (@phantomthread_d)
What are your thoughts on Soham Parekh?
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Indian Express
33 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
BRICS Summit: Focus on India-Brazil strategic partnership for a multipolar world
With the arrival of Prime Minister Modi in Rio de Janeiro to take part in the 2025 BRICS Summit & Brasilia for a bilateral State visit, a first by an Indian PM in nearly six decades, the gaze is now on the India-Brazil Strategic Partnership. Far too long viewed essentially as South-South solidarity or symbolic multilateralism, this axis of rising power has in recent years achieved bolder geopolitical recognition. While India enhances its international footprint and Brazil restores its regional leadership, the convergences between the two democracies are no longer rhetorical; they increasingly become strategic driven by the shared vision of an equitable multipolar world order. In the midst of an expanded BRICS and rising challenges to the international system, Brazil has proved an invaluable interlocutor of India in the BRICS and the UN and in voicing the hopes and ambitions of the Global South. Brazil today matters to India not only as the largest economy of Latin America but also as a like-minded democratic country with whom India wishes to 'co-write' the rules of international governance. This convergence has been reflected also in the growing frequency and intensity of high-level interaction between the two countries. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Prime Minister Modi have also been spotted several times since Lula's 2023 re-election as the two leaders have committed to upgrading the Strategic Partnership to the next level. But the current era of geopolitics gives special meaning to their convergence. The Rio BRICS Summit, its first since the grouping expanded in 2024, occurs against the backdrop of a fracturing international order where the return of multilateralism is increasingly questioned. Western institutions increasingly appear self-absorbed and the global South is speaking out more vocally than before. In this fluid world, India and Brazil offer the world a development-focused and democratic alternative. Their collaboration in BRICS seeks to turn the grouping into more than the symbol of rising power solidarity that it is today. India and Brazil aim to make it the forum for offering tangible deliverables for the Global South in the form of alternate sources of finance like the New Development Bank or new models of trade, digital connectivity, and climate finance. Indeed, the current Brazilian presidency of BRICS this year and the upcoming Indian chairmanship in 2026 is a rare diplomatic relay. Under Lula's administration, Brazil has emphasized a more politically integrated BRICS, one advocating for democratic values and challenging the imbalances of the current world order. Modi has echoed this priority, arguing that BRICS must induce international institutional change. The two leaders ratify the idea that the Global South should no longer only be the target of international decision, but the co-author of international rules. This convergence is not limited to BRICS. The two countries are equally committed to restructuring the UN Security Council and are the most vocal members of the G4 grouping (India, Brazil, Germany, Japan) pushing for permanent representation for emergent powers. Both find the present configuration of the UNSC as archaic and unrepresentative. In their latest bilateral, Modi and Lula renewed their backing for each other's candidacies and called for time-bound negotiations in the UN. Brazil has used its presidency of the G20 in 2024 to showcase global governance reform and India has been forthright in its support of this agenda. Together, they have been able to give new impulse to what has thus been an extremely stalled process of reform. Another area of great geopolitical convergence is in their approach towards the Global South. India and Brazil have been voices of Southern solidarity, with one difference: they offer pragmatic implementable solutions. India's 2023 and Brazil's 2024 G20 presidencies were built around development agendas, of inclusive finance and food security to digital public goods and climate justice. Lula openly acknowledged the reality of the fact several of Brazil's G20 agendas borrowed from India's G20 Presidency. Modi himself has praised Brazil for continuing the momentum and ensuring continuity in the upholding of voices of the developed world. As the baton comes up to South Africa to preside over the G20 presidency next year, the IBSA trio (India-Brazil-South Africa) would have achieved the rare distinction of back-to-back leadership of the world's most powerful economic forum and offer a unique moment of Southern convergence. The bilateral is also expanding with new content. Commerce between India and Brazil has exceeded $12 billion, and complementarities in energy, agro-products, and pharma are driving the push. Indian companies like UPL, Wipro, and Tata Motors have increasingly expanded operations in Brazil, and Brazilian enterprises in mining and airlines are considering Indian marketplaces. Modi's visit is expected to deliver new deals in green energy, food processing, and defence cooperation. These steps are the bigger picture: India no longer regards Latin America as the faraway theatre of power politics and Brazil increasingly regards India as the gateway to the Indo-Pacific and the hub of the economic rise of Asia. In the coming years, India and Brazil could really transcend being co-passengers of the multilateral system and turn out to be co-designers of a new equilibrium of power internationally. As bridge-builders between the Global South and the North, between the world of the democracies and the world of the developing nations, between development and growth, their bilateral ties are now a global good. For India, Brazil is as big of a partner of BRICS as it is a center-piece of a larger diplomatic offensive aimed at democratizing international institutions and transferring normative power. When PM Modi and President Lula get together side by side at the Rio Summit, the conversation must be bold: the India-Brazil relationship is no longer peripheral but at the very core of the way the two countries see the future of world order. The strength of the relationship will be less in terms of common desire and more in terms of collaborative action, from G4 to BRICS, from the UN to the G20. In a world as desperately in need of new coalitions for reform as for peace and inclusive growth, the coming together of Delhi and Brasilia gives the world a strong, democratic, and developmental vision of the multipolar world to come. (Manish Dabhade is an Associate Professor of Diplomacy in the School of International Studies, JNU& founded The Indian Futures, an independent think tank in New Delhi; X: @imanishdabhade)
Time of India
35 minutes ago
- Time of India
Croma announces Back to Campus sale event: Get MacBook Air M2 Samsung 5G tablets and more
Tata Group's multi-channel electronics retailer Croma has announced its 'Back to Campus' sale. In this event, students and tech enthusiasts can get deals on multiple devices like laptops, tablets, smartphones and other accessories. Croma highlighted that customers can get 'student-friendly' deals on MacBook Air M2, Samsung 5G tablets and more during this campaign. These prices will be available on both offline stores and their online platform. However, the offline store deals may vary across metro and tier two cities. Here are all the details: Croma Back to Campus sale: Price, discounts and other details Deals from top brands as well as other offers like zero-cost EMIs, cashback and exclusive student bundles will be available in the sale. Here are some of the featured offers: MacBook Air M2: Starting at Rs 46,390 (including student discounts, exchange bonuses and up to Rs 10,000 cashback) Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 5G: Available at Rs 3,849/month. AI Windows laptops: Starting at Rs 55,990, (includes a full Microsoft Office bundle, up to 24 months of zero-cost EMI and cashback of up to Rs 10,000) by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like An engineer reveals: One simple trick to get internet without a subscription Techno Mag Learn More Undo Croma has a network of 560+ stores across 200+ cities that will offer students in metros, tier-2 cities and beyond to avail of exclusive bundles and discounts. Here are the offers available in different cities: All Metro Cities: AI-PCs starting at Rs 54,990 (exchange included) with free keyboard-mouse combo, antivirus and Noise Victor Watch (Rs 2,499 value). Gaming laptops starting at Rs 52,990 come with Microsoft Home & Student, gaming mouse and premium antivirus (Rs 2,590 value) Mumbai, Pune & Bangalore: Ryzen 5 laptops starting at Rs 39,990, including exchange and cashback, plus a wireless mouse and antivirus (Rs 999 value) Delhi NCR, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat (Region 2) *** and Hyderabad Metro: Intel i5 laptops starting at Rs 47,990 with exchange, KBM combo, antivirus and Noise Victor Watch (Rs 2,499 value) Pan India: Ryzen 3 laptops starting at Rs 28,990* with exchange, bundled wireless mouse and antivirus (Rs 999 value) Rajasthan, Goa, Kerala, UP, West Bengal, Odisha, NE, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, AP, Telangana, Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand and MP: Intel i3 laptops starting at Rs 32,990 including exchange, with wireless mouse and antivirus (Rs 999 value) Gujarat (Region 1) **: Ryzen 5 laptops at Rs 39,990, covering exchange and cashback, plus wireless mouse and antivirus (Rs 999 value) High-Performance Gaming: Across non-metros, gaming laptops starting at Rs 52,990* including exchange, bundled with gaming mouse and antivirus (Rs 2,590 value) Customers can explore the complete range of offers by visiting their nearest Croma store or shopping online at **Gujarat (Region 1): Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Jamnagar, Mehsana, Palanpur, Gandhinagar, Patan, Morbi, Sanand, Surendranagar, Bhuj, Junagadh, Porbandar, Amreli, Gandhidham, Bhavnagar, Himatnagar, Jaipur, Udaipur, Sriganganagar, Bhiwadi, Kota ***Gujarat (Region 2): Surat, Vadodara, Bharuch, Anand, Vapi, Nadiad, Ankleshwar, Navsari, Bardoli, Valsad, Godhra, Chikhli, Dahod AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
Time of India
39 minutes ago
- Time of India
Vivek Oberoi says he felt stuck in Bollywood, turned to business and raised over $1 billion in last year alone: ‘You have to marry Silicon Valley with a Marwari mindset'
Vivek Oberoi has revealed that a sense of stagnation in the film industry led him to pivot more aggressively towards business. Having spent over two decades in Bollywood, the actor said he grew increasingly disillusioned with the lack of meaningful collaboration in the entertainment world. That realisation pushed him to pursue entrepreneurship, which he now calls his 'primary source of sustenance.' Speaking to CNBC TV-18, Vivek shared, 'After a while in the industry, I realised I was going around in circles and ending up where I started. I didn't enjoy that. It wasn't empowering. I enjoyed being there and collaborating with certain people, but collaboration needs to be a circular give-back.' Suresh Oberoi sparked his early interest in business The foundation for his entrepreneurial spirit, Vivek said, was laid in childhood thanks to his father, veteran actor Suresh Oberoi. He recalled how his father would often bring home inventory, sometimes perfumes, other times electronics, and ask a young Vivek to sell them door-to-door. 'When I was nine or 10, he would suddenly show up with inventory. One year it was perfumes, another year it was electronics... I'd fill it up in my backpack and go door-to-door. At the end of the day, he'd ask me for my 'khata book' and let me keep only the profit. He'd take the cost from me,' Vivek shared. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like An engineer reveals: One simple trick to get internet without a subscription Techno Mag Learn More Undo Two of his companies are set to go public The actor claims to be actively involved in 12 companies, and two of them are gearing up for an IPO. In the last year alone, he says he's helped raise approximately $1 billion (Rs 8,500 crore) in capital. According to reports, Vivek Oberoi's net worth now stands at around Rs 1,200 crore. 'I'm not averse to obnoxious capital,' he remarked. 'That is a substantial sum. But where that capital pipeline deploys and how is that growth protected... Somewhere, you have to marry Silicon Valley with a Marwari mindset. That marriage has to happen.' Vivek Oberoi confesses he wanted to 'end things' at one point: 'Which is why I related to what happened with Sushant Singh Rajput..' Tapping into the 'desi tadka' mindset in business Reflecting on Bollywood's penchant for adding a local twist to global concepts, Vivek added with a laugh, 'Even when we copied international films, we added our desi tadka. So, why not in business?' The shift, he explained, came when he chose to stop 'banging his head' against closed doors in the film industry and opted instead to build his own. 'It was about either going down a spiral of pessimism, or stop banging my head against that door and open another one instead.'
