Who is Soham Parekh, the serial moonlighter Silicon Valley startups can’t stop hiring?
In a story that has captivated Silicon Valley and social media alike, a software engineer named Soham Parekh has been unmasked as a serial moonlighter, allegedly working simultaneously for multiple startups for several years without their knowledge. The revelations, which began circulating widely last week, have sparked a broader conversation about trust, transparency, and the cutthroat nature of the tech industry.
The saga unfolded dramatically on social media, bringing to light how Parekh managed to maintain his clandestine career across several prominent AI and tech startups. His actions have led to widespread shock and concern among founders and the wider tech community, prompting questions about his methods, motivations, and the vulnerabilities within the hiring processes of fast-paced Silicon Valley companies.
Origins of Virality
The unraveling of Soham Parekh’s secret began when Suhail Doshi, CEO of the image generation startup Playground AI, shared a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday. Doshi’s post served as a public service announcement, stating: “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 claimed to have fired Parekh from Playground AI approximately a year ago after discovering his moonlighting activities, urging him to cease his deceptive practices. Despite this, Doshi asserted that Parekh continued his multi-company employment. Doshi’s initial post garnered an astonishing 20 million views, igniting a firestorm and prompting numerous other founders to share their own experiences with Parekh.
Flo Crivello, CEO of Lindy, an AI workflow automation startup, confirmed he had hired Parekh recently but promptly terminated his employment following Doshi’s tweet. Similarly, Matt Parkhurst, CEO of Antimetal, an automated cloud management startup, verified that Parekh was their first engineering hire in 2022. Parkhurst stated that Antimetal let Parekh go in early 2023 upon discovering his parallel employment, noting the significant equity he likely forfeited.
Parekh’s trail extended to Sync Labs, a startup specializing in AI lip-syncing tools, where he even appeared in a promotional video before his eventual dismissal. His attempts to secure roles also touched several Y Combinator-backed startups. Haz Hubble, co-founder of Pally AI, an “AI relationship management platform,” revealed he had offered Parekh a founding engineer role. Adish Jain, co-founder of YC-backed Mosaic, an AI video editing startup, also interviewed Parekh for a position.
Despite his deceptive practices, a recurring theme among these accounts is Parekh’s undeniable technical prowess. Rohan Pandey, a founding research engineer of the YC-backed startup Reworkd, confirmed that Parekh was a strong candidate in interviews, even ranking among the top performers in algorithm-focused assessments. However, suspicions arose when Parekh claimed to be in the U.S.—a job requirement—while an IP logger on a Zoom link placed him in India. Adam Silverman, co-founder of the AI agent observability startup Agency, also noted Parekh’s impressive technical ability but found red flags in his insistence on remote work and frequent meeting reschedules. Roy Lee, CEO of Cluely, an AI startup, echoed the sentiment of Parekh’s strong interview performance, particularly his “strong React knowledge,” though Cluely ultimately did not hire him.
Parekh’s Perspective
In an attempt to provide his side of the story, Parekh made an appearance on the Technology Business Programming Network (TBPN) on Thursday. During the interview, he admitted to working multiple jobs simultaneously since 2022. He denied using AI tools or hiring junior engineers to manage his workload, claiming that the intensive schedule had significantly improved his programming skills, albeit at a personal cost. Parekh asserted that he works an astounding 140 hours a week—equating to 20 hours a day, seven days a week—a claim that stretches the bounds of human endurance and sustainability.
Parekh cited “financial jeopardy” as his primary motivation for moonlighting, claiming he deferred a graduate school program to take on multiple roles. However, this explanation raised eyebrows as Suhail Doshi had previously shared a copy of Parekh’s resumé that claimed he received a master’s degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Furthermore, his preference for low salaries and high equity at these startups seemed to contradict a narrative of immediate financial distress. When pressed, Parekh stated he liked to maintain a boundary between his professional and private life, declining to elaborate on his financial situation. Despite the ethical quandaries, Parekh maintained that he genuinely loved his work and was deeply invested in the missions of all the companies he worked for, concluding that he is not proud of his actions and does not endorse them.
What Now?
In a classic Silicon Valley move, Parekh appears to be attempting to leverage his viral notoriety into a new business venture. He initially announced his exclusive employment with Darwin Studios, a startup focused on AI video remixing. However, both Parekh and Darwin’s CEO, Sanjit Juneja, quickly deleted their respective posts regarding this announcement. Despite the swift deletion, a spokesperson representing Parekh provided a statement from Juneja: “Soham is an incredibly talented engineer and we believe in his abilities to help bring our products to market.”
This situation mirrors a growing trend in the tech industry where controversial viral moments are strategically transformed into business opportunities. A notable example is Cluely, known for its provocative marketing, which successfully parlayed its attention-grabbing tactics into a $15 million seed round from Andreessen Horowitz. Only time will tell if Soham Parekh can navigate the fallout from his actions and forge a similar path to fortune, or if the scrutiny will permanently mar his career in the demanding world of AI startups.
