An engineer who appeared to be working at multiple AI startups simultaneously has become the subject of memes and introspection in the tech industry this week. Soham Parekh, an Indian software engineer, recently disclosed on a podcast that he was managing multiple roles across different companies, working up to 140 hours a week due to challenging financial circumstances.
The controversy began when Suhail Doshi, the founder of Playground AI, called out Parekh on social media for allegedly working at three to four startups concurrently. Other founders joined the discussion, sharing their experiences of hiring and subsequently parting ways with Parekh.
During his appearance on the “TBPN” podcast, Parekh admitted to his extensive workload but expressed regret over his actions. He explained that he had taken on multiple jobs out of necessity and emphasized his dedication to each company he worked with.
Despite receiving praise for his technical capabilities from some CEOs, such as Igor Zalutski of Digger, Parekh faced criticism for underperformance and being employed by multiple startups simultaneously. Founders like Kevin Wu of Leaping AI reported letting him go for these reasons.
Parekh did not address the allegations of being terminated from any of the companies on the podcast. While he did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider, it was confirmed by various sources that he had been employed by several tech companies and that concerns over his workload led to his dismissal in some cases.
The CEO of Antimetal, in a post on X, praised Parekh as “highly intelligent and personable,” but he was dismissed by the company upon discovering his involvement in other positions. Antimetal did not provide immediate clarification upon request for more details. While the exact timeline of Parekh’s employment with various companies remains unclear, a blog post from Meta in June 2021 indicates that Parekh was contributing to WebXR projects and working on immersive AR/VR experiences through the Major League Hacking (MLH) Fellowship during that time. In California, where many startups are headquartered, there are no laws prohibiting individuals from working for multiple companies simultaneously, even if they are direct competitors. It is uncertain what agreements Parekh had in place within his contracts. His practice of juggling multiple jobs has sparked conversations about the growing trend of overemployment. Deedy Das, a Menlo Ventures principal specializing in AI investments, noted on X, “There are countless individuals like Soham Parekh that we are not aware of. To clarify, this is a non-issue if it complies with your employment contract.” Overemployment gained traction during the pandemic, as some individuals took advantage of remote work opportunities to hold multiple high-paying positions. Tech industry leaders shared their thoughts, jokes, and memes on the matter. Reid Hoffman, founder of LinkedIn, pondered on X, “What do you think Soham Parekh’s LinkedIn headline says?” Aaron Levie, CEO of Box, joked in a post, “If Soham confesses immediately and explains that he was training an AI Agent for knowledge work, he’ll secure a $100M valuation by the weekend.” Memes continued circulating, with Flo Crivello, CEO of San Francisco-based AI company Lindy, referencing “The Social Network” with a meme stating, “You can’t reach 500 million jobs without making a few enemies.” Have a story about overemployment to share? Reach out to the reporters at katherineli@businessinsider.com or kvlamis@businessinsider.com. Read the original article on Business Insider.
