High-Profile Meta Executive Jumps Ship to OpenAI Amidst India Scrutiny
Meta's India and Southeast Asia VP, Sandhya Devanathan, is leaving to join OpenAI as it expands its presence across Asia Pacific. Her departure comes as Meta faces increased scrutiny in India over online safety and content moderation issues, including an incident involving PM Modi's Instagram post and concerns about child sexual abuse material.
Sandhya Devanathan, Meta's vice president for India and Southeast Asia, is departing the social media giant to take on a new role at OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT. Based in Singapore, Devanathan will report to OpenAI’s Asia-Pacific managing director, Kiran Mani. Her responsibilities will include overseeing consumer growth, enterprise adoption and partnerships, regulatory engagement, and operations across Southeast Asia and Australia, according to OpenAI.
Devanathan's move marks the end of a tenure spanning over a decade at Meta, a company that has increasingly faced scrutiny regarding issues such as online safety and content moderation. She was reportedly involved in Meta's decision-making processes in India. This appointment follows closely on the heels of Prabhjeet Singh joining OpenAI as its India head, who previously spent more than ten years leading Uber's India and South Asia business. OpenAI has been actively expanding its footprint across the Asia Pacific region, establishing offices in key locations like Singapore, Tokyo, Seoul, Sydney, and Delhi over the past two years.
Following Devanathan’s departure, Meta's India managing director, Arun Srinivas, will report directly to Benjamin Joe, the company’s vice president for Asia-Pacific. Devanathan initially joined Meta in 2016 and held various leadership positions, including heading its Asia Pacific gaming business, before being appointed vice president for India and Southeast Asia in June of the previous year.
Meta has encountered mounting pressure from Indian authorities in recent weeks. Earlier this month, the company issued an apology after Instagram inadvertently restricted a post by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in July. The Indian government responded by summoning Meta executives, including its chief global affairs officer, Joel Kaplan, over the incident. Furthermore, New Delhi has voiced significant concerns regarding child sexual abuse material found on the company’s platforms. Last month, the Indian government sought an explanation from Meta after a BBC report alleged that Instagram advertisements offered access to such content. In response, Meta stated in a blog post that it had removed the violating ads and accounts and refuted suggestions that it knowingly targeted such advertisements at users based on inappropriate interests. The company also highlighted that it had removed 160,000 accounts in India over a six-month period based on signals indicating child-exploitative activity.