Over the past week, Silicon Valley has found itself captivated by the curious case of Soham Parekh, a software engineer who, according to numerous founders and startup executives, has juggled multiple full-time positions simultaneously—without providing his employers notice of his double (or even triple) commitments. Parekh’s name burst into the spotlight after Suhail Doshi, CEO of Playground AI, raised alarm bells on social media, publicly identifying Parekh as a “serial moonlighter” who targets startups—especially those backed by Y Combinator—and advising others to stay wary.
Doshi’s original post on the social media platform X went viral within hours, eventually accumulating around 20 million views. He alleged that his own company had hired Parekh a year earlier, quickly firing him upon realizing that he was secretly employed elsewhere. Doshi further accused Parekh of misleading employers repeatedly, continuing even after getting caught.
Following Doshi’s explosive accusation, several more Silicon Valley entrepreneurs came forward to share strikingly similar accounts. Among them was Flo Crivello, CEO of Lindy AI, who acknowledged hiring Parekh recently and swiftly letting him go upon discovering the revelations online. Matt Parkhurst, CEO of Antimetal, also revealed that Parekh had briefly been their company’s first engineering hire back in 2022 before being dismissed for the same reason.
The pattern only deepened. Parekh was found to have worked at Sync Labs, where he even appeared prominently in promotional content, before ultimately being let go. Numerous other startups emerged offering similar testimonies—many had interviewed Parekh, impressed by his engineering prowess, only to find inconsistencies that raised suspicion. For instance, Reworkd’s former research engineer, Rohan Pandey, noted Parekh had delivered standout scores in algorithm tests, yet alarm bells rang when conversations about Parekh’s actual location yielded inconsistencies. Pandey confirmed suspicions of deception after tracing an IP address during a Zoom call to reveal Parekh was in Mumbai, not in the U.S. as he’d claimed.
Despite the controversies, the engineer at the center of the storm broke his silence on an episode of the Technology Brother Podcast Network. Speaking openly with hosts John Coogan and Jordi Hays, Parekh admitted he had indeed been simultaneously employed by various startups since 2022. He claimed he performed all tasks himself without the assistance of AI tools or junior developers and insisted that taking on excessive workloads had improved his overall programming skills significantly.
Parekh painted a picture of a young man under extreme financial duress: he claimed economic necessity led him to accept multiple job offers rather than ask one company for a pay raise. Parekh maintained that he typically clocked upwards of 140 hours per week—a claim met with skepticism due to physical and practical limits—but his demeanor suggested a combination of regret, pride in his abilities, and resignation to public criticism.
There were lingering contradictions, however. Despite citing financial troubles, Parekh had consistently chosen positions emphasizing equity over salary, adding ambiguity to his motivations. There were also doubts surrounding credentials found on his résumé, notably a contested master’s degree from Georgia Institute of Technology.
After a brief emergence at Darwin Studios, a startup focusing on AI-driven video remixing, and subsequently announcing himself as exclusively employed there, Parekh hastily retracted the announcement, as did Darwin CEO Sanjit Juneja. Darwin issued a supportive yet cautious statement, praising Parekh’s talent without elaborating further.
Amid this unfolding saga, Parekh finds himself standing somewhere between notoriety and infamy. Silicon Valley has long been fascinated by unconventional, rule-bending individuals, often turning even controversial figures into entrepreneurial celebrities. Indeed, Parekh’s immediate future remains uncertain, but the strange saga of the young software engineer who hoodwinked some of the valley’s brightest talents—not once but several times—has left a lasting impression. Should Parekh choose to capitalize on his sudden notoriety, Silicon Valley’s history of rewarding boldness and audacity suggests he may still find opportunity in the very community now questioning his reputation.
