Meta AI Director Rohit Patel Leaves to Build Ndoc Startup
Rohit Patel departs Meta after eight years to launch Ndoc, an AI-native workspace startup aiming to disrupt Microsoft Office and Google Workspace.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
- Meta AI director Rohit Patel leaves the company after an eight-year tenure.
- Launches a new startup named Ndoc to replace Microsoft Office and Google Workspace.
- Features a unified three-tab layout including Stage, Narrative, and Model.
- Plans to release a public beta in the coming weeks and a full launch next year.
After eight years developing artificial intelligence for Meta, Rohit Patel has departed from the company. The former director at Meta Superintelligence Labs follows several high-profile departures, including Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan, AI researcher Andrew Tulloch, and Head of Product for AI-for-Work Emily Dalton Smith.
Patel has launched Ndoc, a startup designed as an AI-native replacement for established tools like Microsoft Office and Google Workspace. The platform seeks to eliminate the fragmented workflow of juggling across applications such as Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Tableau by bringing everything into a unified workspace.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
The design of Ndoc integrates three core components within a single layout:
- The Stage tab: Houses presentations of key findings, slide decks, dashboards, and mini apps.
- The Narrative tab: Features analyses, numbered citations, and generated figures explaining the data.
- The Model tab: Contains the underlying datasets and Python scripts used for the work.
Patel's departure to challenge entrenched giants like Microsoft and Google highlights a growing industry shift toward rebuilding office productivity software from the ground up using native AI architecture, rather than merely layering chatbots onto legacy workflows.
"Companies are basically attaching AI to spreadsheets and it fills your cells for you... This is like if you just figured out electricity, and then you decided the best use case is to put lights on my bulls that till my soil. No. Get a tractor."
Rohit Patel
Furthermore, documents in Ndoc can be exported as a single .ndoc.html file that opens in any browser, a format Patel plans to open-source. As of Tuesday, Ndoc is conducting an enterprise pilot and opening an alpha version to a limited waitlist, operating on a usage-based token pricing model ahead of a full launch planned for next year.
Source: TechCrunch
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