Rohit Patel, a director working on artificial intelligence at Meta, is leaving the company after eight years. He is moving on to build his own startup, Ndoc, which aims to take on Microsoft Office Suite and Google Workspace. The news was first reported exclusively by TechCrunch.
At Meta, Patel worked on AI evaluations and reinforcement learning. These are core areas of AI development — evaluations measure how well AI systems perform, and reinforcement learning is a technique used to train them. His departure removes an experienced hand from Meta's AI team.
What Is Ndoc and Why It Targets Microsoft Office and Google Workspace
Patel's startup, Ndoc, is setting its sights on the productivity software market. That means going head-to-head with Microsoft Office Suite and Google Workspace — two of the most widely used office tools in the world.
According to TechCrunch, Patel is departing Meta after eight years working on AI evaluations and reinforcement learning, and his startup Ndoc aims to take on Microsoft Office Suite. The report was exclusive to TechCrunch.
To put it plainly, this is a big jump. Microsoft Office and Google Workspace dominate how people write documents, build spreadsheets, and collaborate at work. A new startup entering that space is taking on two established giants.
Why This Departure Matters for Meta's AI Team
Patel's work at Meta centered on AI evaluations and reinforcement learning — areas that matter for how AI models are tested and improved. Losing a director with eight years of experience in these fields is a notable change for the team.
- Eight years at Meta — a long tenure in a fast-moving industry
- Deep focus on AI evaluations and reinforcement learning
- Now building Ndoc, a startup aimed at the office software market
- Competing directly with Microsoft Office Suite and Google Workspace
Our Take: A Tough Market, but a Telling Move
In our view, the most interesting part of this story is not the departure itself — it is the direction. A senior AI director leaving a major tech company to build a productivity tool shows where some insiders think the next big opportunity lies: using AI to change how we work with documents and office software.
That said, taking on Microsoft Office and Google Workspace is not easy. Both products are deeply embedded in workplaces around the world, and switching tools is a hard habit for users to break. Ndoc will need to offer something clearly better, not just different.
For readers, the takeaway is simple: watch this space. When experienced AI people leave big companies to start their own ventures, it often signals where the next wave of workplace technology is heading. Whether Ndoc can actually challenge the office software giants is a question only time will answer.
Sources & References
- TechCrunch — Exclusive report on Rohit Patel's departure from Meta and his startup Ndoc