“Not Proud, But Pressed: Soham Parekh Breaks Silence on Moonlighting Controversy”
Indian engineer Soham Parekh has admitted moonlighting at multiple U.S. startups due to financial hardship. In a candid interview, he says he’s “not proud” but had no choice—and is now focused on one AI startup. Read his full story including new job at Darwin and efforts to rebuild trust
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Indian engineer Soham Parekh has finally responded to widespread allegations accusing him of secretly working for multiple U.S.-based tech startups—a revelation that had him branded a “scammer” by Playground AI founder Suhail Doshi. In a featured interview on the podcast TBPN, Parekh acknowledged he is “not proud” of his actions but defended his choices by citing severe financial hardship as the catalyst for juggling up to four jobs at once.
He confessed to enduring grueling 140-hour weeks just to stay afloat, stating, “I did what I had to do to get out of a tough situation”. Growing up in Mumbai and later moving to the U.S. to pursue engineering formatted from Georgia Tech, he says mounting financial pressures pushed him into this strategy—an admission he doesn’t condone.
Parekh revealed he is now working exclusively with one startup—Darwin, an AI-focused data/video platform—and is determined to prove himself after having “a lot to prove” following the recent scrutiny.
Despite multiple founders, including Doshi, flagging concerns such as CV falsification, visa misrepresentation, and moonlighting, he claims this chapter is closed and that he’s ready to move forward.
