Italy's Poste Italiane launches €600 million fund to finance new data centers

Poste Italiane, which now controls about 87% of Telecom Italia, has launched a co-investment fund targeting €600 million ($665 million) to bankroll new data centers alongside outside investors as Italy chases the AI infrastructure boom. The Bank of Italy approved the fund in September; its first pilot will finance a 20-megawatt data center, with equity shared among TIM's cloud unit Noovle, TIM and third parties and about 80% of the cost funded with off-balance-sheet debt, CEO Matteo Del Fante said on Thursday's third-quarter earnings call.