Orange, Morrison plan French data centre venture to meet AI demand

French telecoms operator Orange and infrastructure investor Morrison plan to create a data centre joint venture in France to ‌expand capacity ⁠and ⁠meet rising demand for artificial intelligence and cloud services, the companies said on Monday.

The 50-50 venture would target 400 ​megawatts of capacity, nearly ⁠10 times ‌Orange's current ​level, ​and would be ⁠supported by a €3 billion ($3.41 billion) investment ​programme combining Orange assets, Morrison ​funding and debt.

Orange would contribute five data centres in France, while Morrison would provide ‌equity funding to support the platform's growth.


The companies ​expect ​to sign ⁠the transaction by the end of 2026 and complete it in ​the first quarter of 2027, subject to approvals.