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In a scandal that has shaken the startup ecosystem in Silicon Valley, an Indian engineer, Soham Parekh, has been accused by several U.S.-based startup founders of holding multiple jobs at once, often without informing employers. The controversy has cast a spotlight on the risks of remote hiring and the challenges of enforcing accountability in a globally distributed tech workforce.

Soham Parekh, reportedly residing in India, is believed to have worked at as many as four or five tech startups concurrently, many of which are backed by renowned accelerator Y Combinator (YC). The story came to light when Suhail Doshi, founder of Playground AI and ex-CEO of Mixpanel, posted a public warning on X (formerly Twitter).

“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 wrote.

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.

I fired this guy in his first week and told him to stop lying / scamming people. He hasn’t stopped a year later. No more excuses.

— Suhail (@Suhail) July 2, 2025

Doshi revealed that Parekh was hired at Playground AI but was fired within a week after it became evident he was employed elsewhere simultaneously. Doshi also posted what he said was Parekh’s résumé, which included roles at Dynamo AI, Union AI, Synthesia, and Alan AI. Doshi went as far as to claim the resume was “90 per cent fake.”

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Following Doshi’s post, other founders echoed similar experiences. “Fired this morning,” wrote on of the X users. “He did so incredibly well in interviews, must have a lot of training.”

“He has been doing this for years and works at more than 4 startups at any given time,” added another user.

No Public Statement Yet

Parekh has not issued an official public response, but Doshi shared a private message from him. In the message, Parekh appeared to express remorse, asking, “Have I completely sabotaged my career? What can I do to improve my situation? I am also happy to come clean.”

His academic background, listed as a bachelor’s from the University of Mumbai and a master’s from Georgia Tech, is now being questioned amid doubts about the authenticity of his resume.

The incident has ignited a debate about the ethics of moonlighting, the effectiveness of remote hiring processes, and the need for stricter background verification.