Neo: Reinventing Office with AI
Veteran Founder Bhavin Turakhia Pours $30 Million Into AI-Native Office Competitor Neo
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Key Points
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Neo's core engineering team is based in Bengaluru, signaling a centralized, high-intensity development hub for the project.
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The initial Neo iteration was built in roughly three months with the help of AI coding assistants, enabling a rapid prototype pace unusual for enterprise software.
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Neo faces competition not only from Microsoft and Google but also from startups like Notion and Salesforce, which are actively embedding AI into productivity tools.
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Turakhia emphasizes an 'iPhone' style reinvention—arguing that enterprise software built around AI must be redesigned from the ground up rather than retrofit legacy systems.
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Market context: the enterprise productivity software market is valued at more than $50 billion annually, underscoring the scale and ambition of Neo’s challenge.
Billionaire entrepreneur Bhavin Turakhia is betting $30 million of his own money on Neo, a new AI-first software platform built to challenge Microsoft Office and Google Workspace. Turakhia officially launched Neo on July 2, 2026, calling it a ground-up reinvention of workplace software — not a patch job on old systems, according to NDTV Profit.
The platform combines documents, project management, file storage, and an AI assistant called "Friday" into one suite. Turakhia argues that incumbents cannot truly harness AI because they are built on 30-year-old foundations. "If you want to build an iPhone, you cannot take Nokia parts and somehow turn them into an iPhone," he said, according to NDTV Profit.
Neo Built in Three Months Using AI Coding Tools
Between January and March 2026, a lean engineering team in Bengaluru built Neo's first working version in roughly three months. Turakhia says the same work would have taken a much larger team more than a year using traditional methods, according to Techbuzz AI. AI coding assistants drove most of the speed gain — a pace almost unheard of for enterprise software.
Neo entered internal testing on April 1, 2026, running inside Turakhia's other companies, including fintech unicorn Zeta and email provider Titan. By June 30, Turakhia had locked in the full $30 million personal commitment. He wanted to control the architecture himself before bringing in outside investors, according to NDTV Profit.
Friday AI Agent Connects to Over 1,000 Apps
At the center of Neo is an AI agent called "Friday." Turakhia describes it as a co-worker, not a chatbot. Friday can connect to more than 1,000 external applications and hand off tasks to other AI agents, according to Whalesbook. The idea is that AI sees everything — tasks, files, documents — in one place rather than across fragmented tools.
Neo uses a model-agnostic design. That means businesses can switch between AI providers like OpenAI or Anthropic without rebuilding their workflows. This avoids lock-in to any single AI company — a growing concern for enterprise buyers, according to Zamin. Turakhia frames this flexibility as a core competitive advantage over Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini.
A $110 Billion Market Dominated by Two Giants
The business productivity software market is projected to reach $110.36 billion by end of 2026. Microsoft holds roughly 58% of enterprise market share, and Microsoft 365 is used by 75% of Fortune 500 companies. Together, Microsoft and Google control about 96% of the productivity suite market, according to Whalesbook. Neo is entering one of the most entrenched software categories in the world.
Analysts point to one near-term opening. Microsoft ends support for Windows 10 and Office 2021 on October 14, 2026. That deadline may push mid-sized businesses to look at alternatives rather than pay for another upgrade cycle. Beyond that window, critics warn that Neo will struggle to match 40 years of specialized features — particularly Excel — in regulated industries, according to NDTV Profit.
Turakhia's Track Record Backs His Ambition
This is Turakhia's fifth major venture. He co-founded Directi, Radix, Titan, and Zeta — the last a banking tech unicorn. He also co-founded Media.net, which sold for $900 million. His history of building large, technical companies from scratch gives Neo credibility that most early-stage startups lack, according to Techbuzz AI.
Some analysts suggest Neo does not need to beat Microsoft to win. The AI-first software segment alone could be worth $20 billion by end of 2026, serving companies that want to skip legacy stacks entirely. Turakhia is targeting that new class of buyer first — before chasing enterprise contracts from entrenched Microsoft shops, according to Whalesbook.
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