Orange Fab

No. Orange Fab operates a zero-equity model. The program provides mentorship, office space, and access to Orange's commercial channels without taking any ownership stake. This distinguishes it from typical corporate venture programs that require equity for program admission.

Orange Fab functions as the top-of-funnel accelerator, identifying and validating startups through commercial pilots. Orange Ventures, led by Jerome Berger, is the separate corporate venture capital arm that provides follow-on equity funding to graduates and other later-stage companies. The two entities operate as complementary pieces of Orange's innovation pipeline.

Go Ignite is a cross-operator startup-scouting alliance between Orange, Deutsche Telekom, Telefónica, and Singtel. Through this partnership, Orange Fab graduates gain access to pilot opportunities across all four carriers' markets, expanding potential distribution from Orange's footprint to a combined reach exceeding one billion mobile subscribers globally.

Orange Fab runs accelerator hubs across 17 countries in North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. Key locations include San Francisco, Paris, Tokyo, Seoul, and Abidjan. The San Francisco office serves as the North American hub, while the Paris headquarters coordinates the global program alongside the Station F partnership.

Orange Fab targets early-stage companies, typically seed to Series A-ready startups that have a product and can deploy into an enterprise telecom environment. The program does not invest directly, but prepares companies for commercial deployment and follow-on funding from Orange Ventures or external VCs.

Sourcing runs through Orange's regional innovation hubs, the Station F campus partnership in Paris, and the Go Ignite alliance. Each hub runs open calls for applications biannually, with local teams screening for startups that can pilot within Orange's business units in that region.

Orange Fab is housed within Orange's innovation division and operates alongside — but separately from — the Orange Foundation. The Foundation handles digital-inclusion philanthropy; Orange Fab is a commercial acceleration program that feeds Orange's business units and the Orange Ventures investment pipeline.