Sandhya Devanathan, Meta’s Vice President for India and Southeast Asia, is departing the social media firm to join OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, as confirmed to TechCrunch.
OpenAI stated that Devanathan will operate from Singapore, reporting to Kiran Mani, OpenAI’s Asia-Pacific Managing Director. Her responsibilities will include managing consumer expansion, corporate client adoption and collaborations, regulatory interactions, and operational activities throughout Southeast Asia and Australia.
This executive’s departure from Meta follows over ten years with the company, which has increasingly faced examination concerning matters like digital security and content oversight. An individual privy to the situation indicated Devanathan’s participation in Meta’s decision-making within the nation.
Devanathan’s new role at OpenAI follows closely after Prabhjeet Singh was appointed as the head of OpenAI India. Singh previously spent over ten years at Uber, where he managed its operations across India and South Asia.
OpenAI has been broadening its footprint throughout the Asia Pacific region, having established offices in Singapore, Tokyo, Seoul, Sydney, and Delhi over the last two years.
A source close to the situation informed TechCrunch that subsequent to Devanathan’s exit, Arun Srinivas, Meta’s India managing director, will now report directly to Benjamin Joe, the company’s vice president for Asia Pacific.
Devanathan began her tenure at Meta in 2016, where she occupied various leadership positions, such as overseeing its Asia Pacific gaming division, prior to her appointment as vice president for India and Southeast Asia in June of the previous year.
In recent weeks, Meta has experienced increasing scrutiny from Indian authorities. Earlier this month, the company issued an apology following Instagram’s erroneous restriction of a post by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in July. Subsequently, the Indian government called upon Meta executives, including its chief global affairs officer, Joel Kaplan, to address the matter.
Furthermore, New Delhi has voiced apprehensions regarding child sexual abuse material present on Meta’s platforms. Last month, the Indian government requested clarification from the company after a BBC investigation uncovered Instagram advertisements purportedly offering access to such illicit content.
At that time, Meta communicated via a blog post that it had taken down infringing advertisements and accounts, refuting any claims that it deliberately aimed such ads at users based on unsuitable interests. The company also highlighted its removal of 160,000 accounts in India over a six-month period, based on indicators of child-exploitative behavior.