NewstechFormer Meta AI Director Rohit Patel Launches Startup to Challenge Microsoft Office, Says Adding AI to Spreadsheets ‘Kills My Soul’
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Last Updated:October 30, 2026, 16:32 IST
Former Meta AI director Rohit Patel has left the company after eight years to launch a startup that aims to rethink how people work with documents, presentations and data.
Patel’s new venture, Ndoc, is being positioned as an alternative to established productivity platforms such as Microsoft Office and Google Workspace. Instead of adding artificial intelligence features to existing applications, the startup wants to bring presentations, written analysis and underlying datasets together in a single connected environment.
In an interview with TechCrunch, Patel criticised the approach taken by several companies that are simply incorporating AI into traditional spreadsheets.
“Companies are basically attaching AI to spreadsheets and it fills your cells for you,” Patel said.
“It just sort of kills my soul. 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.”
How Ndoc wants to change workplace productivity
Ndoc is designed around three interconnected sections that allow users to move between visual presentations, written analysis and the data behind their work.
The first section, called Stage, displays presentations, dashboards, simulations and smaller applications.
The second, Narrative, houses written reports, analysis, citations and automatically generated figures.
The third, Model, contains the underlying datasets and Python scripts used to generate the results.
Users can upload their data and ask the platform to analyse it, explain patterns and generate relevant findings. They can also provide information about the intended audience and preferred tone to shape the output.
An important part of the platform is transparency. Patel wants users to be able to inspect how AI-generated results were produced instead of blindly trusting the output.
“Even if you don’t know any Python, you can ask [the AI chat] to explain, ‘Hey, what does this script do? Which line has my formula?’ And you can verify that formula,” Patel said.
“There’s nothing hidden behind the curtain here.”
According to Patel, people can also access shared Ndoc workspaces without necessarily creating their own accounts.
Why Rohit Patel decided to leave Meta
Patel told TechCrunch that his ambition to create an openly accessible document format was one of the factors behind his departure from Meta.
He believed developing and adopting such a format within a large organisation would require agreement from multiple teams and stakeholders, potentially slowing down the process.
Ndoc allows users to export their work as a single file with the extension .ndoc.html, which can be opened in a web browser.
Patel plans to make the format opencations. The idea is to ensure that users can access their documents even if they eventually stop using Ndoc
The startup also relies on a combination of open-ificantly lower than services built around more expensive proprietary models
When will Ndoc launch?
Ndoc currently has a three-member team and has not raised external funding
Patel wants to establish that customers are genuinely interested in the product before approaching investors.
The startup is already conducting an enterprise pilot and allowing a limited number of users to test an early version through a waiting list.
Registration is free, although customers will have to pay for usage and AI tokens, which measure how much information a model processes.
Patel expects to make a broader beta version available in the coming weeks, with a full launch planned for next year.
The company has also developed integrations with existing workplace tools, allowing customers to bring their data into the new platform.
Quick Answers
Ndoc is a new AI-powered startup launched by former Meta AI director Rohit Patel that integrates presentations, written analysis, and underlying data into a single connected platform to challenge traditional productivity suites like Microsoft Office and Google Workspace.
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First Published:October 30, 2026, 16:32 IST
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