SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — A previously unknown Indian software engineer is now reportedly at the center of a brewing controversy in Silicon Valley. According to multiple reports, including a social post from an AI startup founder, the engineer in question, Soham Parekh, has been working at several startups at the same time.
Parekh, who according to India Today, is believed to be based in India, is alleged to have worked at up to four or five startups — many of them backed by Y Combinator — at the same time. The controversy first erupted earlier this week when Suhail Doshi, founder of Playground AI, posted a warning about Parekh on X.
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“PSA: there’s a guy named Soham Parekh (in India) who works at 3-4 startups at the same time,” Doshi wrote. “He’s been preying on YC companies and more. Beware.”
Doshi said he fired Parekh in his first week and that he got “nothing done” and “made up constant lies.”
Doshi posted a picture of Parekh’s resume, calling it “90% fake,” and explaining that he “tried to talk sense” into him. Other tech CEO’s weighed in on Doshi’s initial post, reporting similar experiences.
“Funnily enough, Soham was our first engineering hire in 2022,” from Matt Parkhurst, CEO at Antimetal. “Really smart and likable; enjoyed working with him. We realized pretty quickly that he was working at multiple companies and let him go.”
“We just signed him up for our work trial next week,” commented X user Michelle Lim. “Saw this tweet. Cancelled work trial. Thank you for sharing!”
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The reported controversy around Parekh appears to have raised a broader online conversation about the nature of work at AI and tech startups.
“Beyond the viral shock value, there’s a deeper question here about how we work today,” wrote LinkedIn user Eva H. “In an era of fully remote teams and async collaboration, how much actual visibility do we have into who’s doing what? Are our project trackers and headcount giving us the full picture or only the tip of the iceberg?”
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Tech influence Deedy Das called Soham Parekh “the tip of the iceberg,” claiming that there are “1000s of Soham Parekhs we don’t know about.”
NewsNation affiliate KRON4 has not independently confirmed reports regarding Soham Parekh. We reached out to a LinkedIn profile appearing to be his and are awaiting a response.
