Engineer says he did it out of “financial need”
San Francisco / Bengaluru: In a tech story that feels more like fiction than fact, India-based software engineer Soham Parekh has admitted to secretly working full-time for up to 34 startups — all at once.
The bizarre revelation has rocked Silicon Valley. It began when Suhail Doshi, founder of Mixpanel, exposed Parekh in a viral post on X (formerly Twitter). Doshi accused him of deceiving several startups, many backed by the top accelerator Y Combinator.
More startup founders quickly came forward. One of them, Dhruv Amin, co-founder of AI company Create, shared how Parekh fooled his team. “He did great in interviews and seemed eager to join,” Dhruv said.
But soon, things turned suspicious.
Parekh delayed his start date, missed meetings, and gave excuses. Then came the twist — another startup named Sync posted an “Employee of the Month” video featuring Parekh. That’s when Dhruv’s team confronted him.
Parekh denied working elsewhere. But with growing evidence, his contract was terminated.
As the story exploded online, Parekh finally spoke out on The Backchannel Podcast. He admitted to the multi-job hustle. “It is true,” he said. “I’m not proud of what I did. But I was in dire financial need.”
He claimed he did all the work himself — without AI or help from others. He also revealed the juggling act began in 2022, during what he said was an online program at Georgia Tech. But that claim is in doubt — Georgia Tech says there’s no record of him.
Despite the scandal, Parekh has already landed another job. He’s now working at an AI startup named Darwin in San Francisco.
He says he’s done with moonlighting. “No more extra jobs,” he promised.
The incident has sparked a huge debate in tech circles. While some call Parekh dishonest, others say his story exposes flaws in remote hiring, where checks are weak and pressure is high.
Whatever the opinion, one thing is clear — Soham Parekh has become a name Silicon Valley won’t forget.
