Meta veteran Sandhya Devanathan jumps to OpenAI amid Indian regulatory pressure

Sandhya Devanathan, who has served Meta for over a decade and most recently as vice president for India and Southeast Asia, announced her departure to join OpenAI as a regional leader based in Singapore. In her new role she will oversee consumer growth, enterprise adoption, partnerships, regulatory liaison and operational matters across Southeast Asia and Australia, reporting to OpenAI’s Asia-Pacific managing director Kiran Mani.

The move comes as Meta faces intensified scrutiny from Indian authorities over online safety, content moderation and alleged child-sexual-abuse advertising, highlighted by an Instagram post mistakenly limiting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s content. OpenAI has been expanding its footprint in the region, opening offices in Singapore, Tokyo, Seoul, Sydney and Delhi over the past two years, and recently appointed Prabhjeet Singh as its India head after his tenure at Uber. Following Devanathan’s exit, Meta’s India managing director Arun Srinivas will now report directly to Benjamin Joe, the company’s vice president for Asia-Pacific.