American founder reveals Soham Parekh, an Indian professional who worked simultaneously for multiple startups; the internet responds with memes.
Artificial intelligence is not stealing our jobs; it's Soham who is, according to jokes on the internet.
An American entrepreneur reported on X/Twitter a technology professional in India, Soham Parekh, for his alleged practice of working simultaneously for multiple companies. This individual reportedly targeted Y Combinator-backed startups, using resumes that may have been manipulated. In his CV, he claimed to have earned a Master's in Computer Science from the Georgia Institute of Technology (2020-2022) and a Bachelor's in Computer Engineering from the University of Mumbai (2016-2020).
The founder mentioned in his post that Soham has been "stalking YC companies and more." He expressed his concern by stating, "I fired him in his first week and told him to stop lying and deceiving people. A year later, he still hasn't stopped." In a subsequent message, he revealed that Soham had falsified his location, claiming that they thought he was in the U.S., even sending him a laptop to a U.S. address, which was later returned because it was supposedly sent to his "sister."
The controversy attracted the attention of other entrepreneurs, who shared their experiences interviewing or hiring Parekh. One commented that he worked with him for three months and although he appeared confident and articulate, he rarely completed his tasks. Another founder mentioned that he was close to hiring him but was glad he did background checks the weekend prior, discovering that he had lied about his visa status and had been working multiple jobs simultaneously.
The phenomenon not only generated complaints but also a torrent of humorous reactions on X/Twitter. Some users commented ironically on the situation; one asked about Parekh's LinkedIn headline, while another claimed that Soham was just "the tip of the iceberg," suggesting that there are many more similar cases that remain hidden. The comedic comments continued, with insinuations that artificial intelligence was not stealing jobs, but rather it was Soham who was doing so.
Meanwhile, theories arose about whether Soham is truly a single person or a network of individuals using his identity to get jobs and subcontract the work done. One user suggested that it is probably a group that uses his resume to interview and then distributes the work, implying that this type of fraud is not new in the industry.