« Orange Fab » is open to all US-based start-ups that want to change the way people connect and communicate. The program is managed by Orange Silicon Valley, Orange’s development center in San Francisco, California.
Orange Fab aims to help start-ups grow their businesses and develop amazing products and services that benefit Orange and its customers. There will be 4 - 6 start-ups selected to be part of the program that will start in May 2013. Start-ups joining the program will have access to mentoring sessions from notable Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, world-class engineers and experienced designers. They will also be paired-up with and advised by Orange executives located in Silicon Valley, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The start-ups will be able to relocate to the offices of Orange Silicon Valley or use their meeting rooms. All the start-ups that are selected for the program will be offered $20,000 in funding. In addition, two demo days will be organized; one taking place in Paris in June, while the second one will be in Silicon Valley in July.
To join Orange Fab, start-ups must present an existing product, be in advanced beta phase or have already launched. Preferably, they have not yet raised a series-A round of investment from VCs. Start-ups are invited to apply on www.orangefab.com. The applications are open until April 7th 2013.
“With Orange Fab, we join together with the next wave of Silicon Valley innovators to reimagine the future of communications," noted Georges Nahon, CEO of Orange Silicon Valley and President of Orange Institute. "We are optimistic that opening up our world-class innovation center in San Francisco, and providing start-ups privileged access to decision-makers on the front lines of our business operations will be a win-win for all participants."
The selected start-ups will benefit from Orange Fab unique positioning: deeply rooted in Silicon Valley and widely known within France Telecom-Orange group, which has operations in 33 countries.
“Orange Fab will help us take to the next level the relationships we have been building with our ecosystem of startups and develop new ones. We look forward to watching them thrive through new connections within our company. » explained Pascale Diaine, Orange Fab lead.
With Orange Fab, entrepreneurs are able to focus on their growth, on distributing their service globally and on building and scaling products and services that will dramatically change telecommunications as we know it.
To make this possible, Orange is combining its deep knowledge of the telecommunications industry with the invaluable expertise of Silicon Valley mentors, while offering qualified startups funding and logistics support.
More info: orangefab.com - Follow us on Twitter @orangefab
press releaseabout Orange
France Telecom-Orange is one of the world’s leading telecommunications operators with sales of 43.5 billion euros in 2012 and has 170,000 employees worldwide at 31 March 2013, including 104 000 employees in France. Present in 32 countries, the Group has a total customer base close to 230 million customers at 31 March 2013, including 172 million mobile customers and 15 million broadband internet (ADSL, fibre) customers worldwide. Orange is one of the main European operators for mobile and broadband internet services and, under the brand Orange Business Services, is one of the world leaders in providing telecommunication services to multinational companies.
With its industrial project, "conquests 2015", Orange is simultaneously addressing its employees, customers and shareholders, as well as the society in which the company operates, through a concrete set of action plans. These commitments are expressed through a new vision of human resources for employees; through the deployment of a network infrastructure upon which the Group will build its future growth; through the Group's ambition to offer a superior customer experience thanks in particular to improved quality of service; and through the acceleration of international development.
France Telecom (NYSE:FTE) is listed on NYSE Euronext Paris (compartment A) and on the New York Stock Exchange.
For more information (on the internet and on your mobile): www.orange.com, www.orange-business.com, www.orange-innovation.tv or to follow us on Twitter: @presseorange.
Orange and any other Orange product or service names included in this material are trade marks of Orange Brand Services Limited, Orange France or France Telecom.
