The scandal launched when Suhail Doshi, CEO of Playground AI, posted a warning on X (formerly Twitter), revealing Parekh had worked at 3–4 startups simultaneously and allegedly lied about it. Doshi’s tweet has since garnered over 20 million views, sparking a wave of revelations from other startup founders who had similar experiences. But who exactly is Soham Parekh, how did he pull this off, and why are startups still hiring him?
How did the Soham Parekh story go viral in silicon valley?
The entire saga kicked off with a viral X post on Tuesday, July 2, by Suhail Doshi. Doshi warned other tech founders, writing:
“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 that he fired Parekh a year ago from Playground AI after finding out he was working other jobs. Despite confronting him and warning him to stop “scamming people,” Doshi alleged that Parekh continued the behavior.
That post opened the floodgates. Dozens of startup CEOs and founders launched sharing their own stories of hiring Parekh — many from Y Combinator (YC)-backed companies — only to later discover red flags. Among them:
- Flo Crivello, CEO of Lindy, hired Parekh recently and fired him after Doshi’s post.
- Matt Parkhurst, CEO of Antimetal, stated Parekh was their first engineering hire in 2022 but was let go in early 2023.
- Sync Labs, an AI lip-sync startup, also reportedly fired him after he appeared in one of their promo videos.
- Pally AI and Mosaic, both YC-backed, reported that Parekh either applied or was offered roles.
- Agency and Cluely, two other AI startups, interviewed Parekh and later raised concerns.
Why did startups keep hiring Soham Parekh despite red flags?
The most surprising part of the story is that Parekh consistently did well in technical interviews. Founders declare he came across as talented, skilled, and driven. For instance, Rohan Pandey, formerly at Reworkd (a YC startup), informed TechCrunch that Parekh performed among the top three candidates in algorithm tests. However, the team became suspicious when Parekh claimed he was in the U.S. — a requirement for the role — but an IP logger from a Zoom invite placed him in India. Adam Silverman, co-founder of Agency, stated Parekh initially seemed like a solid candidate but kept rescheduling meetings. In total, Parekh postponed five different interview slots. Though technically impressive, he refutilized to relocate or even reveal his actual location, which raised doubts.
Similarly, Roy Lee, CEO of Cluely, noted Parekh “seemed to have strong React knowledge” during interviews but wasn’t hired due to concerns that eventually surfaced.
Who is Soham Parekh and how did he respond to the allegations?
Soham Parekh finally addressed the controversy in an interview with the Technology Business Programming Network (TBPN). In a conversation with hosts John Coogan and Jordi Hays, he admitted to working multiple jobs at the same time since 2022. He denied applying AI tools or outsourcing the work and instead claimed he managed the workload himself — working 140 hours a week, or 20 hours a day, seven days a week.
He described himself as sleep-deprived, obsessed with coding, and motivated by a financial crisis. According to Parekh, he turned down a master’s degree program he had been accepted to, in favor of earning through jobs at various startups. Ironically, a resume shared by Doshi claims Parekh already earned a master’s degree from Georgia Institute of Technology.
When questioned why he didn’t just question for a raise instead of juggling multiple jobs, Parekh stated he liked keeping his personal struggles private. However, this conflicted with the fact that he chose lower salaries and high equity at his jobs — which doesn’t quite align with the idea of financial desperation.
He also stated, “I’m not proud of this. I don’t concludeorse it,” and emphasized that he genuinely cared about the mission of the companies he worked for.
Is Soham Parekh facing consequences or capitalizing on the attention?
While many call Parekh a scammer or liar, some in the startup world are treating the episode as yet another moment of viral tech culture. In a Silicon Valley ecosystem where controversy can lead to capital, Parekh seems to be attempting a rebound.
Soon after the TBPN interview, Parekh announced on X that he’s now working exclusively at a startup called Darwin Studios, focutilized on AI video remixing. However, both Parekh and Darwin CEO Sanjit Juneja deleted the announcement post shortly after.
Still, Juneja issued a statement to TechCrunch through a representative:
“Soham is an incredibly talented engineer and we believe in his abilities to assist bring our products to market.”
This follows a recent trconclude in tech — where companies like Cluely, known for its controversial marketing and “cheat-on-everything” AI tagline, managed to raise a $15 million seed round from Andreessen Horowitz despite its provocative reputation.
Will Soham Parekh become a cautionary tale or silicon valley’s next controversial hire?
Soham Parekh’s story is still unfolding. With multiple firings, red flags, and a trail of skeptical startup founders behind him, he remains a controversial figure. Yet, in a tech ecosystem that often rewards attention — even negative attention — Parekh could still land on his feet.
Startups are increasingly viewing for standout talent who can hit the ground running. In a world of remote-first work, high-speed development cycles, and experimental hiring, Parekh’s saga raises an important question for Silicon Valley:
Where do we draw the line between hustle and deception?
Whether he concludes up building the next viral AI product or fades from the scene, Soham Parekh’s name is now embedded in one of 2025’s most bizarre tech stories — a strange blconclude of hustle, deceit, and raw engineering skill.
FAQs:
Q1: Who is Soham Parekh in Silicon Valley tech?
Soham Parekh is a software engineer who secretly worked at multiple startups at the same time.
Q2: Why is Soham Parekh called a serial moonlighter?
He’s called a serial moonlighter becautilize he held several jobs across different startups without informing them.
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