Meta’s India head, Sandhya Devanathan, is leaving the company to join OpenAI as vice president for Southeast Asia and Australia.

Devanathan will be based in Singapore and report directly to OpenAI’s Asia-Pacific managing director, Kiran Mani. The executive joins days after Prabhjeet Singh joined OpenAI as its India head. For related coverage, explore our detailed analysis on Technology and Digital Systems.

Background Context: Changing Leadership in Meta and OpenAI

In the past two years, OpenAI has expanded its presence across Southeast Asia with offices in Singapore, Tokyo, Seoul, Sydney, and Delhi. This move comes after Devanathan joined Meta in 2016 and held several leadership roles before becoming India managing director.

Devanathan left Meta amid the growing scrutiny of content moderation issues at the company. Earlier this month, Instagram mistakenly restricted a post in India, prompting an apology from Meta and summoning executives to meet with Indian authorities.

Child sexual abuse material on social media platforms is also a concern, as the Indian government sought an explanation from Meta last month after a BBC report found advertisements that allegedly offered access to such content. The incident has raised concerns over online safety and moderation in India.

Timeline: Significant Leadership Moves at Meta and OpenAI

With Devanathan on board, OpenAI aims to expand its presence across Southeast Asia. This move is seen as a strategic shift towards growing consumer adoption and enterprise partnerships in the region.

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Meta’s India and Southeast Asia vice president, Sandhya Devanathan, is leaving the social media giant to join OpenAI, the ChatGPT maker informed TechCrunch.

Devanathan will be based in Singapore and report to OpenAI’s Asia-Pacific managing director, Kiran Mani. She will oversee consumer growth, enterprise adoption and partnerships, regulatory engagement and operations across Southeast Asia and Australia, OpenAI stated.

The executive is leaving Meta after more than a decade at the company, which has been the subject of growing scrutiny over issues such as online safety and content moderation. Devanathan was involved in the company’s decision process in the country, a person familiar with the matter stated.

Devanathan’s appointment comes days after Prabhjeet Singh joined OpenAI as its India head. Singh had spent more than a decade at Uber, where he led its India and South Asia business.