Sandhya Devanathan, Meta’s vice president for India and Southeast Asia, is leaving the company to join OpenAI.
The move follows a period of intense pressure on Meta from Indian regulators regarding online safety and content moderation. Devanathan will be based in Singapore and report to Kiran Mani, OpenAI’s Asia-Pacific managing director. Her remit covers consumer growth, enterprise adoption, partnerships, regulatory engagement and operations across Southeast Asia and Australia.
The departure
Devanathan spent more than a decade at Meta before joining OpenAI. She was part of the decision-making process in India, a source close to the matter confirmed. Her appointment comes shortly after Prabhjeet Singh joined OpenAI as its India head. Singh previously led Uber’s India and South Asia business for over ten years.
OpenAI has expanded its footprint in the region, establishing offices in Singapore, Tokyo, Seoul, Sydney and Delhi over the last two years.
With Devanathan gone, Arun Srinivas, Meta’s India managing director, will now report directly to Benjamin Joe, the company’s vice president for Asia-Pacific.
Background
Devanathan joined Meta in 2016. She led the Asia Pacific gaming business before taking the role of vice president for India and Southeast Asia in June.
Meta has faced mounting pressure from New Delhi in recent weeks. Earlier this month, the company apologised after Instagram mistakenly restricted a post by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in July. The Indian government summoned Meta executives, including chief global affairs officer Joel Kaplan, to discuss the incident.
Authorities have also raised concerns about child sexual abuse material on Meta platforms. Last month, the government demanded an explanation after a BBC report identified Instagram advertisements allegedly offering access to such content.
Meta stated it had removed the violating ads and accounts. The company rejected suggestions that it knowingly targeted users based on inappropriate interests. It noted that 160,000 accounts in India were removed over six months based on signals indicating child-exploitative activity.
What it means
For creators and businesses in the region, this shift signals a change in how OpenAI will approach local growth and regulation. OpenAI is moving its centre of gravity towards Asia, while Meta loses a key leader who understood the specific regulatory environment in India.
