🧙🏽‍♀️ Sabrina Chevannes (EMBA, MCIM)

Hey - I’m Sabrina 👋🏽I’m a proud portfolio entrepreneur. I run multiple businesses, build different revenue streams &amp; wear a lot of hats - by design. I believe breadth is a strength, not a weakness &amp; I actively encourage founders to embrace it properly, with the right systems.Everything I do connects, but here’s some clarity so you know exactly what I do &amp; who I help.I’m known as The No Bullsh*t Entrepreneur because I tell the truth about business. I don’t pretend it’s easy or I’m “always smashing it” &amp; I don’t sell shortcuts. I show the highs &amp; the lows - and I’m usually the one saying what people are already thinking but are too afraid to say.My work consistently challenges the status quo in entrepreneurship. When everyone says “work harder” or “do more marketing”, I’m often saying: we’re solving the wrong problem. I help founders who want small teams but big profits.That’s why I create No Bullsh*t content across multiple platforms:	•	No Bullsh*t Entrepreneurship (YouTube): educational videos	•	Sniffing Out the Bullsh*t (audio podcast): weekly myth-busting with practical alternatives	•	No Bullsh*t Talks (video podcast): REAL conversations with founders without the BSIt’s also why I founded N0BS: a no-bullsh*t members’ club for entrepreneurs. We’re deliberately anti-community in the modern sense: no performative networking, no hype, no fake relationships. N0BS is for ambitious founders who want genuine connections, access to quality people &amp; to grow their businesses sustainably and ethically.I’m also an International Chess Master &amp; former England international. Chess has shaped how I think: position before tactics, long-term strategy over short-term wins. Today, I coach privately, work with kids/adults and run corporate workshops using chess to help businesses solve complex strategic problems.After years of being known as “the Chess Master with an MBA”, I created The Positional Advantage™: a framework for founders who want to win more clients without spending more on marketing. Using principles from chess, I help businesses fix their positioning so growth becomes easier, clearer &amp; more profitable.In practice, I’m brought into companies as a Fractional CMO/COO, but my real work is as a Small Business Diagnostician. I identify what’s actually broken, spot missed opportunities &amp; optimise strategy and operations so businesses can grow without burning out or bleeding cash.At the end of the day, my goal is simple:To help founders build profitable businesses that give them more time, more clarity &amp; a better life - not just more work.

Founder

Complex Creative is known as the No Bullsh*t Agency, as we are fully honest and transparent with our work and we explain things how they are. No more getting ripped off by agencies because your job is "so complicated" and XYZ needs to be done because it's essential to your brand. 

We provide you with no BS answers and explain our processes throughout. 

If you know someone who may be being ripped off by their agency, feel free to get in touch for a second opinion!

🧙🏽‍♀️ Sabrina Chevannes (EMBA, CMktr)

I never thought I’d be ranting about Kylie Jenner on LinkedIn… but here we are.

WHY ON EARTH IS VANITY FAIR ASKING KYLIE JENNER TO DO A “POKER MASTERCLASS”? 🤬🤬🤬

Apparently the idea is that “Hot Girl Poker” will help grow the game.

But why pick her though? There are sooooooo freaking many actual hot girl poker champions out there. 

Women who have:
💪🏽 Won WSOP bracelets
💪🏽 Earned millions in tournament winnings
💪🏽 Spent years mastering one of the most strategic games in the world.

Absolute badasses.

And yet… when a global magazine wants to showcase poker…

They pick a celebrity who learned the rules two years ago and film her explaining them in a bra 🙄🙄

Seriously???

If the goal was to promote poker, why not collaborate with actual champions and celebrate the women who’ve already conquered the game?

New Balance just did this brilliantly when Eberechi Eze played Magnus Carlsen at chess. 👏🏽

Celebrity meets genuine excellence - everyone wins. 

Instead we get Hot Girl Poker 🤦🏾‍♀️

It feels somewhat insulting!!

Women do not need to strip down to be taken seriously in strategic spaces - they already belong there.

Especially disappointing from a brand like Vanity Fair… And during International Women’s Month, no less. 🙂‍↔️

Surely I can’t be the only one who thinks we could have done a lot better than this??

Sabrina Chevannes-Denman

I’m for hire again baby!!! I’m available for speaking gigs. 🥳

And for the next 3 gigs, I’m waiving my fee.

Yup - you heard it. You get me for FREE. I get paid nada. Zilch. Diddly squat! 😱 

No, I’m not feeling generous - there is a caveat. It’s a trade… 

For professional footage for my speaker showreel. 🎥

I’ve been really laxed with filming my keynotes and workshops and now I need to get intentional about it. 

For those who don’t already know me, here’s what I speak on:

💥 Small teams, big profits: how to grow your business without the BS
💥 Chess in business: strategy, analytics and critical thinking
💥 Creating an authentically authentic personal brand

Requirements:
👥 Live audience
🎥 Proper videography
✅ Permission to reuse clips

So, if you’re running an event and you’re wondering how to get an epic speaker within your measly speaker budget - your prayers are now answered!

Get in touch for more info, or if you want testimonials, but I’m sure my audience will vouch for me too 😅

This weekend, I stayed in the Four Seasons in Tower Bridge, even though it’s just 20 mins from my house.

It wasn’t about going far - it was about switching off. 

🥞 Eating great food
🍸 Sipping on fun cocktails
🧖🏾‍♀️ Enjoying the luxury spa
👩🏽‍❤️‍👨🏼 Spending quality time

Plus, Bella came too - she approved 🐶 

I didn’t realise just how rejuvenating that weekend was until I got up this morning at 6am and felt instantly productive. 

And I’m NOT a morning person!

I bashed out so much work on my way to my team day today and suddenly had all this clarity to the things I wasn’t sure about a week ago. 

I always underestimate how much I need a rest. 😴

But I do also think there’s something about surrounding yourself with luxury that has such a positive effect on you. 

Taking that moment out to “escape” and just purely enjoy everything, without worrying about work, money, health etc., was somewhat liberating. 🥳

I encourage everyone to take a staycation and just enjoy the finer things in life for a weekend. Enjoy doing NOTHING. 

When was the last time you took a genuine break? Didn’t even look at your phone? If you can’t remember, this is your sign to take one!

Today I’m calling bullsh*t on International Women’s Day! 🤬

I’m SICK AND TIRED of what this day is about now. 

What started as something powerful - rooted in labour movements, protest, and women fighting for basic rights - has slowly turned into corporate propaganda and exploitation.

Every year I’m asked to speak at IWD events to help “empower” other women.
But somehow there’s never a speaker budget. 🙄🙄🙄

Funny how empowerment rarely seems to include actually paying women for their expertise.

Instead, every year, you get men organising token events so they can look like the “good guys”.

🦸🏼‍♂️ Putting women on a stage.
🦸🏼‍♂️ Taking photos.
🦸🏼‍♂️ Posting about how much they “support women”.

And somehow acting like the women should be grateful for the opportunity. 🤦🏽‍♀️

They call that empowerment, but somehow it feels more like free labour wrapped in PR. 

Then there’s the absolute bullsh*t behind the “official” International Women’s Day website. 😤

Most people assume it’s run by the UN - it’s NOT!

The domain is privately owned by a marketing company that has essentially turned the day into a global branding campaign - selling themes, hashtags and corporate partnerships every year. 

Profiting off the vulnerability of women. 🤮

Their defence?
“International Women’s Day belongs to everyone.”

BULLSH*T!!

International Women’s Day didn’t start as a marketing campaign.

It started in the early 1900s labour movement, when women were protesting for basic rights like voting, fair pay and safe working conditions.

The UN only formally adopted it decades later in 1975.

But now?

It’s become a yearly parade of corporate LinkedIn posts, pastel graphics, and panel events where women are asked to speak for “visibility” instead of being paid like professionals. 🥱

And honestly, the irony is almost too perfect.

A day that exists because women were historically exploited… is now being used to exploit women again. 🤦🏽‍♀️

So highlighting this bullsh*t should be a core part of International Women’s Day.

But if you really want to support and respect women… it’s not that difficult:
💪🏽 Pay them for speaking gigs
💪🏽 Treat them the same way you treat men
💪🏽 Pay them equal salaries
💪🏽 Don’t act like they’re just decorations for diversity panels
💪🏽 Don’t treat them like s*xual objects
💪🏽 Don’t take advantage of their vulnerability

Basically, just be decent human beings. 

At least try, FFS.

Are we now in a world where bad behaviour can just be blamed on disability?!

And does a diagnosis give someone blanket immunity to be a d***??

I’ve watched the BAFTAs incident unfold with disbelief. 😢

A racial slur was shouted at Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo while they were on stage - and it was aired on national TV.

Let me be very clear before people jump in:
I fully understand that Tourette’s involves involuntary tics and outbursts. I cannot imagine how difficult that is to live with. And I am not attacking people with Tourette’s.

However, I have never experienced someone with Tourette’s directing that word at me. 🤷🏽‍♀️

And my disgust is aimed far less at the individual involved and far more at BBC, who chose to broadcast it - while apparently having no problem cutting references to Palestine from another speech.

That decision matters.

What’s made this worse is the narrative that’s followed.

It’s quickly turned into “Black people vs people with disabilities” - a false and harmful divide that helps absolutely no one. 🤦🏽‍♀️

Then I scroll social media and see people joking about “claiming Tourette’s” so they can say whatever they like with no consequences. 🤬

Others comparing it to people using ADHD or neurodivergence as an excuse for bad behaviour at work.

That’s what’s truly upsetting.

Because people who genuinely live with these conditions are now being lumped in with those using them as a shield from accountability. 💔

We’re seeing more and more incidents where there are no consequences - and worse, where systems seem to protect harm rather than address impact.

So I’ll ask the uncomfortable question:

Where is the line between compassion and accountability?
And what happens if we keep pretending this isn’t becoming a problem?! 🤔

Two years ago, I was on a billboard for International Women’s Day 🤯

I remember walking around London and suddenly seeing my own face staring back at me as part of a brilliant campaign run by Tobi Oredein and the Black Ballad team, in partnership with Google.

The campaign was about showcasing the future of the workforce.

🙌🏽 Women who excel in their fields.
🙌🏽 Women who are breaking ceilings.
🙌🏽 Women who don’t always look like the stereotypical image of success.

The campaign genuinely moved me. 

To have a giant like Google invest in a campaign that centred women... Black women... and celebrated excellence like that was incredibly powerful.

Not just for us...

But for every little Black girl walking past those billboards thinking:
“Maybe that could be me.” 🥹

Because representation matters.

Seeing someone who looks like you doing the thing you dream of doing can change how big you allow yourself to think.

To me, THIS is what a powerful International Women’s Day campaign looks like!

👎🏽 Not empty posts.
👎🏽 Not token panels.
👎🏽 Not performative LinkedIn captions.

🙌🏽 Real investment.
🙌🏽 Real visibility.
🙌🏽 Real impact.

I was incredibly proud to be part of it.

And massive respect to the people and companies who actually put their money, platform and influence behind initiatives like this.

That’s how you celebrate women 👏🏽

I'm soooo excited to be writing for Entrepreneur Media again!!

I'm going to be investing a lot more time into writing now, while I work on publishing my next book. 

So, I will be producing a fair few articles for Entrepreneur.com

First up of 2026: Why all entrepreneurs should play chess!!

Whenever I've seen chess and business compared, it's the same usual, boring comparisons. 

So I picked 5 completely new ones I've never seen suggested anyway. 

Check out the article here:
https://lnkd.in/gb5XCijh

PSA: Just because someone doesn’t put “ADHD”, “Autistic”, “Neurodivergent”, or “Neurospicy” in their LinkedIn headline… doesn’t mean they don’t live with it.

Just because you’re louder about it, doesn’t mean you suffer more.
Just because you’ve made it your entire identity doesn’t mean you’re entitled to more sympathy, more grace, or more respect.

Some people are just getting on with it.
🧠 Doing the work.
🧠 Building the business.
🧠 Managing the chaos in their brain privately.
🧠 Learning coping mechanisms.
🧠 Trying to improve.

Without broadcasting it.

I have huge respect for neurodivergent creators who educate, advocate and genuinely help people. That work is totally needed and they’ve helped change many a life. 

But the thing is, a diagnosis may explain behaviour, but it doesn’t excuse it.

Being neurodivergent doesn’t give you blanket immunity to:
👎🏽 Talk down to people
👎🏽 Be consistently unreliable without accountability
👎🏽 Be rude
👎🏽 Refuse feedback
👎🏽 Dismiss impact with “this is just how I am”

Invisible disabilities work both ways.

You can’t demand that the world recognise nuance…while assuming that anyone who isn’t loud about it must be “less aware” or “less evolved”.

I totally get that it’s harder for some people, and that’s OK. No one is expecting anyone to be perfect. But people are expecting you to care. To want to try and manage things better. 💕

Look, some people don’t want labels to define them.
Some people are still processing it. 
Some are navigating significant challenges and choosing to handle them privately while working relentlessly on the parts that hurt their relationships or careers. 💔

Advocacy is powerful, yes, but so is personal responsibility. They are not opposites. 

They can (and should) coexist. 💪🏽

And maybe the real flex isn’t announcing your diagnosis…
Maybe it’s doing the work to ensure it doesn’t become your excuse.

Former Dragon from Dragon’s Den agrees that there’s a lot of bullsh*t in entrepreneurship! 😱

And it’s genuinely hurting entrepreneurs - making them lose money, endure unnecessary stress and not preparing them for how difficult running a business really is. 

I had the pleasure of sitting down with Richard Farleigh on his new podcast, The Boardroom, where we talked about how most founders do marketing wrong, and why so many of them choose to bullsh*t. 🐂💩

Richard has invested in over 120 businesses, so he’s seen first hand the most common mistakes founders make in business and what actually makes entrepreneurs successful. 

This was SUCH a great episode, covering so many useful topics for founders, PLUS, how chess can be used to help problem solve in business too! 

Tune into the full episode here: https://lnkd.in/eeW-b35N

Why is there still so much racism in 2026? 
And why do so many people pretend it doesn’t exist? 😢

I’ve been thinking a lot about the latest racism incident involving Vinícius Júnior - and it’s been a little difficult to take. 

For those who don’t follow football:
Vinícius is one of the best players in the world. A Brazilian international playing for Real Madrid - arguably the biggest club on the planet.

Last week, during a Champions League match against Benfica, he reported being racially abused on the pitch. 🙊

The accused player now denies it, and because he covered his mouth, there’s no clear footage. Some players say they heard it, others say they didn’t. 🤷🏽‍♀️

But here’s the bit that really upsets me:

Instead of the conversation being “racism is disgusting”, it quickly became:
“Why does it always happen to him?”
“Maybe he misunderstood.”
“He provokes it.”

Apparently, celebrating a goal now makes racial abuse understandable.
Even José Mourinho weighed in - reinforcing the idea that Vini’s behaviour is the real issue. That he was celebrating the goal too much… as if that somehow justified the racism. 😡

Vini has:
– Had racist effigies made of him
– Seen people jailed for abusing him
– Been targeted repeatedly, across multiple stadiums

And yet… people still say he’s making it up. 🤦🏾‍♀️

I scrolled through Instagram after the incident and all the comments were against Vini and it really got to me. 

It made me think that this is exactly why so many Black people stay quiet.

Because speaking up doesn’t just mean reliving the incident - it means being cross-examined, doubted, and blamed. 💔

I even see it myself here on LinkedIn. The reactions I get on my posts are very different to other posts, even with the same opinion. 

And when you constantly get negativity and even hate, just for speaking your mind - why do you want to keep doing it?

💪🏽 Being outspoken does NOT make racism acceptable.
💪🏽 Confidence is NOT consent for abuse. 
💪🏽 Celebration is NOT provocation.

The “No Room for Racism” campaign means nothing if, the moment it appears, we rush to explain it away.

And to those who say racism doesn’t exist because they haven’t seen it:
Just because something doesn’t happen to you… doesn’t mean it isn’t happening.

This World Book Day, I want to share my TBR for the month. 

And its no coincidence they’re all written by women as that’s what I do every March during International Women’s Month. 

I’ve been needing inspiration lately from hugely powerful women. And when I say powerful, I don’t mean rich. 

I’ve picked: 
- Finding Me by Viola Davis
- The Light We Carry by Michelle Obama
- Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes
- How To Fail by Elizabeth Day
- I am Malala by Malala :) 

Would love to hear thoughts from anyone who’s read these and any other suggestions by incredible women that helped motivate them through a difficult time in life

No alternative text description for this image

A podcast with a former Dragon and a tour around Steven Bartlett's office - this month was incredibly motivating 🙌🏽

February was the month I decided to come out of my shell again. 

I actually met up with people, went on podcasts, attended events etc. 

After dealing with grief, I really struggled to feel comfortable around people. So, I hid away and even pivoted my business so that I ran fewer events and had less contact with people. 😢 

This month, I gradually picked myself up to do some one on ones, and even joined a dance class!

It’s felt amazing to see a glimmer of my old self, and now I’m psyched for what March will be like. 

It’s already picking up that fire horse energy, so I’m feeling really pumped for this Lunar New Year. 🥳

I’m definitely looking to do lots more events, keynotes and collabs this year, so please do get in touch if you fancy doing something together!

What I did in February 

Most business owners make the same mistakes amateur chess players do. 

They play speed chess with their business. 

Now, speed chess (or blitz, as we call it) seems fun - it’s fast, it’s exciting and keeps us on our toes. But the problem is, it’s poor quality chess. 🤦🏾‍♀️

If we want to improve, we should be taking our time and studying classical chess and playing longer games. 

But most people don’t want to do that, as that’s “boring”. 🥱

So they constantly play blitz and wonder why they don’t improve. 

It’s the same in business. People are going after hacks, delving straight into marketing without any strategy and looking for shortcuts wherever they can. 🙄

This just means they will never learn how to run a business properly. 

Sure, they will find some quick wins and get lucky here and there, but they will never really improve and get the respect of investors and real business moguls. 

I’ve just done a video on my YouTube on how similar blitz chess is to how founders are running businesses these days. 

So, if you want to learn how to play REAL chess with your business, here’s the link to the full video:
https://lnkd.in/eHBt22YQ

When I posted that I made £126k on LinkedIn last year, I had mixed reactions.

Some called BS, some thought it was great and many others claimed that number was pathetic and they were making that in a week. 

I wasn't saying it to brag, but to be transparent. 

I live in Zone 2 in London and live a very social life. I get that £126k doesn't buy you that life. 

So, it's not about the number, but I wanted to show people tangible proof that there is money to be made on LinkedIn if you do things properly. 

That's why I've broken down how I did that on my latest YouTube video, which can be found here:
https://lnkd.in/e7u4DdVG

If you're worried your posts aren't reaching enough people, then this one is definitely for you.

This week's theme of my content has all been around the LinkedIn bullsh*t out there and how to ACTUALLY make money on LinkedIn. 

I'm bringing back my weekly newsletter - No Bullsh*t Entrepreneurship, which summarises the content I put out on a weekly basis, the lessons from them and the discussions from other entrepreneurs. 

If you don't want to miss the content I do, this is a great way to get everything in one place, straight to your inbox. 

Hit subscribe if you don't want to miss an issue.

View newsletter: No Bullsh*t Entrepreneurship

This Week’s Theme: LinkedIn BS Lately, the LinkedIn feed has been filled with complaints about LinkedIn. Very meta. The consensus is that LinkedIn is 

Open article: How to make money from LinkedIn by Sabrina Chevannes-Denman • 2 min read

I think Austin Kleon's Steal Like An Artist is one of the most misunderstood books for entrepreneurs. 

People think it's a free pass for plagiarism! And we wonder why there have been all these silly posts starting with "Steal My...". 

It's actually an incredible book, IF used properly. 

So, I decided to review it on my YouTube channel and explain how this book can genuinely be super useful in entrepreneurship, rather than lead you into a massive legal battle and lose your creativity and credibility along the way. 

Full video here:
https://lnkd.in/e5qmN7mB

𝐃𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 80% 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬?

Movies make poker look like constant action:
💥 Huge bluffs.
💥 Big all-ins.
💥 Dramatic showdowns.

But the reality is much quieter.

Most professional players are patiently folding hand after hand… watching, analysing, waiting for the right moment.

Because good poker isn’t about playing every hand - it’s about playing the 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 hands.

Business is exactly the same, yet I see so many founders doing the opposite:
👎🏽 Saying yes to every opportunity.
👎🏽 Every collaboration.
👎🏽 Every meeting.
👎🏽 Every shiny new idea.

That’s the equivalent of playing 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐫 with your business.

I am constantly seeing more and more parallels between poker and entrepreneurship - and I’ve broken down why folding more hands might be the smartest thing you can do in your business in my latest YouTube video. 

If you feel like you’re busy all the time but not necessarily moving forward… this might explain why.

🎥 Watch here: https://lnkd.in/eJk4jBJD

Digital infrastructure and AI are reshaping the global economy.At the centre of this shift lies a complex stack of systems and dependencies. AI runs on data centres, connects with enterprise platforms, and depends on energy infrastructure - all under tightening performance and sustainability demands.For nearly two decades, I've written about enterprise IT, data centres, AI, and cybersecurity, along with the operational realities behind them. Having worked across editorial, agency, and brand roles, I understand not just how technology works, but how narratives shape markets.In an era where generative AI can produce endless content, the advantage no longer lies in volume. It lies in perspective and authority.✨ How do you stand out when everyone is publishing?✨ How do you attract the right audience?✨ How do you build trust in a noisy market?That's where I come in.---What I bring:✅ Technical fluency from a prior career in IT.✅ 18 years of editorial judgement.✅ Deep familiarity with APAC data centre and digital infrastructure ecosystem.✅ Experience shaping narratives that resonate with technically literate audiences.---How we can work together: Work with me directly👉 Consulting on AI, data centre and technology trends.👉 Strategic content advisory and executive positioning.👉 Speaking, moderation and industry panels.Reach my audience👉 Strategic editorial collaborations.👉 Authority-building brand partnerships.---If you would like to read more of my content:🔸Follow me on LinkedIn.🔸Tech Stories Blog: https://www.techstoryteller.co🔸Weekly newsletter: https://www.techstories.co/updates🔸Clearly Tech Substack: https://www.clearlytech.co🔸WhatsApp Channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbB6pYr9hXF32Ycd4t2f---You can contact me via LinkedIn message (no need to connect first) or email at: paul@techstoryteller.co

Paul Mah

STT GDC India last week announced the launch of its fourth data centre in Chennai, India, with phase one of the 45MW facility operational.

✅ Join my WhatsApp Channel (1-click): https://lnkd.in/gfZUWPSe

𝟭/ 𝗦𝗧𝗧 𝗚𝗗𝗖 𝗶𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮

Located in the SIPCOT IT Park, Siruseri, the STT Chennai 7 data centre is designed as a 45MW "AI-ready" facility. The first phase that is currently operational is 7.2MW.

STT GDC India also has 40MW already operational at its Chennai Ambattur campus, split between the STT Chennai 2 and STT Chennai 3 data centres.

Earlier this month, STT GDC India held the groundbreaking of STT Chennai 4, also in the Ambattur campus. According to the company website, it will offer 18MW of capacity.

𝟮/ 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗜𝗣𝗢 𝗺𝗼𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗱

In its press release, STT GDC India says it is evaluating options for future expansion in India, including a potential IPO in 1H 2027 to accelerate growth.

STT GDC holds a 74% stake in STT GDC India with Tata Communications holding the remainder - STT GDC in 2016 acquired a controlling interest in Tata Communications' data centre business in India.

A KKR-led consortium in February announced the full acquisition of STT GDC at an enterprise value of S$13.8 billion. (Read: https://lnkd.in/ggFvPASA)

𝟯/ 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸

As I noted in August last year, there's just 1.4 GW of data centres in operation across India today. That's a dismal figure given the fact that it is the world's most-populous nation with over 1.4 billion people.

The Indian government is making a concerted push to woo investors to get on the AI bandwagon and leapfrog ahead in the digital infrastructure race.

On 1 Feb, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that India will offer a 20-year tax holiday to overseas firms that offer global data centre services from the South Asian country.

Finally, India has other things going for it, including some 11.18GW of renewables at the moment and a push to develop more.

📆 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁

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𝗣𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁: STT GDC. STT Chennai 7.

Helping growing tech companies with their content and strategy

Adani Group this week announced plans to invest as much as US$100 billion by 2035 to develop AI data centres in India.

Specifics are not provided, though the press release says it builds on AdaniConneX's existing 2GW national data centre roadmap and will take total planned target to 5GW.

AdaniConneX is a 50:50 joint venture by Adani Enterprises and US-based EdgeConneX, and is touted as India's largest hyperscale data centre operator.

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𝟭/ 𝗔𝗜 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲𝘀

The data centre expansion is anchored by partnerships with Google, Microsoft and Flipkart. According to Adani, this includes:

🔸Google for a 1GW AI data centre campus in Visakhapatnam, as well as additional campuses in Noida.

🔸The building of data centres spanning Hyderabad and Pune for Microsoft.

🔸Plans to develop a second AI data centre with India e-commerce firm Flipkart.

The Adani Group is also in discussion with other major players to build large scale data centre campuses across India.

𝟮/ 𝗘𝗻𝗱-𝘁𝗼-𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸

Adani Group chairman, Gautam Adani spoke of a five-layer AI stack, a framework that essentially covers apps, AI models, semiconductor chips, energy, and data centres.

The idea is to catalyse and leverage additional investments across server manufacturing and supply chains to make India an "AI-first superpower" as described by Adani's CFO.

Indeed, Adani is investing heavily to expand its renewable energy portfolio, which will include the world's largest battery energy storage systems (BESS).

𝟯/ 𝗗𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲𝘀

From a population and digitalisation standpoint, India currently does not have enough data centres to serve its own needs.

But Adani has clearly set its sights beyond traditional data centres and is looking to leapfrog ahead through multiple AI data centre deployments.

The India AI Impact Summit held in New Delhi this week has drawn attendees with around 10 heads of state and industry luminaries such as Alphabet's Sundar Pichai, OpenAI's Sam Altman, and Anthropic's Dario Amodei.

Where do you see India's data centre market heading?

📆 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁

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𝗣𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁: AdaniConneX. AdaniConneX's Chennai 1 data centre in Chennai, India.

Singapore says it will impose PUE requirements on both old and new data centres with the upcoming Digital Infrastructure Act (DIA).

Speaking at the launch of a Centre of Excellence for Applied AI by Singtel's Digital InfraCo and Nvidia this morning, Senior Minister of State Tan Kiat How made two key announcements.

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𝟭/ 𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴

The Digital Infrastructure Act (DIA), which is designed to enhance the security and resilience of critical digital infrastructure (CII) such as data centres, will be tabled in parliament later this year. 

First mentioned in January 2024, the DIA was originally scheduled to be introduced last year. It is not known why this was pushed back, though my personal speculation is that the DIA was meant to come after the DC-CFA2, which only kicked off in December 2025.

Another possibility could be the complexity of the legislation, or that CIIs in Singapore coming under state-sponsored attacks last year could have resulted in changes or new provisions being added. Regardless, it sounds like the DIA will be passed into law soon.

𝟮/ 𝗕𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆

One new revelation that I wasn't aware before, is how DIA will also seek to establish "baseline energy efficiency requirements" for data centres in Singapore.

This includes both existing and new ones that will be built, which will see the imposition of PUE requirements, though no PUE figures were mentioned this morning.

In his speech, the minister also alluded to the systematic raising of the "energy efficiency and sustainability" of all data centres in Singapore to create "more headroom" to support growing digital demands here.

𝟯/ 𝗦𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆

A regional data centre hub, Singapore has a plan to build a green energy hub and unlock sustainable data centre growth.

It is worth noting that the IMDA-BCA Green Mark for Data Centres 2024 standard imposes tighter requirements on how PUE is measured. This means operators should probably not count on being able to evade this requirement.

You can read more about this in "Singapore's audacious bet on sustainable data centres" here: go.clearlytech.co/k4Hj

I'll share more about the DIA when I learn more about it.

📆 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁

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𝗣𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁: Unsplash/CHUTTERSNAP

Using Claude Code, a man accidentally broke into thousands of live DJI Romo robot vacuums, accessing camera feeds and remotely controlling them.

This #UnfilteredFirday, let's talk about IoT security. And where AI could get us.

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𝟭/ 𝗪𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗽𝘀, 𝗜 𝗵𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘃𝗮𝗰𝘂𝘂𝗺

Hoping to link his brand-new DJI Romo vacuum to a PS5 controller for a geeky side project, a man fired up Claude Code and got to work.

By reverse engineering the protocol used to communicate with the vacuum, Sammy Azdoufal gained direct control of his robot vacuum.

But it turned out it also gave him access to thousands of other DJI robot vacuums too. Sammy could now:

- Check battery levels.
- View live camera feeds.
- Remotely control robots.
- Listen through microphones.
- Generate 2-D maps of each home.

What's more, with the IP addresses of the robots, he could also estimate the location of each device.

𝟮/ 𝗜𝗻 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺𝘀

The DJI Romo uses the well-established and robust MQTT protocol to communicate with DJI servers and the official mobile phone app.

But while proper authentication was required to access a DJI Romo, poor design meant any authentication token could be used to control all connected robot vacuums.

This wasn't a problem with the official app, which restricted access to local devices. But when Sammy extracted his own authentication token* using Claude Code, it gave him access to every device out there.

*An authentication token is a temporary, unique code issued upon verification of a password, ensuring that the password doesn't need to be resent every time.

𝟯/ 𝗔𝗻𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗱

When the story first broke earlier in the week on The Verge, DJI was already informed and it sent a statement that the issue was resolved prior to public disclosure.

Sammy claims other weaknesses remain, though he could no longer see or hear through other devices.

The issue here is weak app design on the part of DJI. However, it's worth noting how Claude Code lowered the barriers of entry, making it far easier to find or exploit security flaws.

The other consideration is this: If even a commercial product could contain such security oversights, what of vibe coded apps created by non-technical users?

I personally operate on the assumption that my home smart devices can be compromised. This is because cybersecurity is often last on the list for consumer products, and products are rarely - or never - patched after they are released.

Anyway, I'm curious about your thoughts on this: Are we facing a potential vibe-coded security apocalypse?

📆 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁

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𝗣𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁: DJI.

AI is simultaneously creating and solving problems. Cybersecurity is just the start.

In my latest Substack piece, I look at why rapid AI-driven transitions are becoming the new normal, and why no industry will be spared.

You can read it here: go.clearlytech.co/fsOo

Here's the quick read version.

𝟭/ 𝗔𝗜 𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

(a) Looming vibe-coding security apocalypse

A man hacking his own robot vacuum found a flaw that gave him control over thousands of others. If that can happen with a commercial product, what about the flood of vibe-coded apps out there?

(b) AI as its own antidote

Anthropic's latest AI model has already uncovered over 500 vulnerabilities in mature open-source codebases - bugs that slipped past expert review for decades.

𝟮/ 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘂𝗽𝗵𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘀

My hypothesis: we can expect years of transitions even if AI stops getting better. Spoiler: there's no sign of AI slowing down. Every industry will eventually feel this.

tldr; We're far from understanding what AI means for cybersecurity.

How do you think AI will impact your industry?

📆 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁

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𝗣𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁: Unsplash/Jerry Wang

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