Meta AI director Rohit Patel leaves to take on Microsoft Office and Google Workspace

What changed

Rohit Patel is leaving Meta after eight years working on AI evaluations and reinforcement learning. He will lead Ndoc, a startup aiming to take on Microsoft Office Suite.

Why it matters

The move puts someone shaped by the difficult work of testing and improving AI systems in charge of a company challenging one of the software industry’s most established products. That gives Ndoc an interesting starting point, but not yet a proven one.

The important details are still ahead: Ndoc’s product scope, launch timing, funding, customers, technical approach and competitive traction have not been reported. Its plans for Google Workspace are also unclear. For now, this is a notable change in leadership and ambition, not evidence that a new office suite is ready to replace the tools people already use.