OpenAI appoints Meta's India VP to head Southeast Asia and Australia operations
Sandhya Devanathan, who served as Meta's vice president for India and Southeast Asia, is departing to join OpenAI. In her new role, she will manage consumer growth, enterprise adoption, partnerships, regulatory engagement, and operations across Southeast Asia and Australia, reporting to OpenAI's Asia-Pacific managing director. The move comes as Meta faces increased regulatory pressure in India over content moderation and child safety issues.
Devanathan's move follows a decade-plus tenure at Meta, where she climbed through roles including leadership of the Asia Pacific gaming division before taking the India and Southeast Asia vice presidency in June 2024. Her departure reshuffles Meta's regional structure, with India managing director Arun Srinivas now reporting directly to Asia-Pacific vice president Benjamin Joe.
OpenAI has been steadily building its Asia Pacific footprint, establishing offices in Singapore, Tokyo, Seoul, Sydney, and Delhi within two years. Devanathan's appointment comes days after Prabhjeet Singh, a former Uber executive, took the India head position, signaling a coordinated push into the region's consumer and enterprise markets.
Devanathan's appointment could accelerate OpenAI's regional expansion, potentially intensifying competition with established AI providers and reshaping how Southeast Asian and Australian businesses adopt generative AI tools. Her regulatory experience may help OpenAI navigate India's increasingly assertive oversight of tech platforms, though her arrival also signals how talent flows toward AI leaders. Enterprises and consumers in these markets could see more localized AI offerings, while Meta's regulatory challenges in India may