Over the past days, many articles and blogs come out with misleading reports that the company CHILI SPA needs to clarify, and in particular:
- CHILI is a company established in 2012 and fully financed by private (individuals, investment funds and leading companies operating in its target market).
- Since 2012, significant investments have been made to create a proprietary platform and to set up a offer that can go international and to generate an adequate return over time.
- CHILI’s level of financial debt is a fraction of what has been indicated by the press and totally in keeping with similar companies in terms of size and operating sector.
- All the major players operating in this global market, in order to achieve profitability, need to invest in technology, marketing and content and thus sustain losses for years since their founding.
- Negentropy, a company founded by Ferruccio Ferrara, controls Chili and the investment funds.
- The management of CHILI has been entrusted to Giorgio Tacchia (founder, CEO, Chairman of the Board and shareholder of the company itself) since its founding. Stefano Parisi, co-founder in 2012, is now a minority shareholder; since 2016 he doesn’t own any operational charge and he isn’t a member of the board of directors anymore.
- In August 2020 CHILI took part in a contest together with other Italian and foreign major market players, public and private, in order to establish a joint venture (JV) with CDP, the so-called Culture Platform.
- The chance to create a new distribution channel for Italian Art and Culture in the world, the participation of Cassa Depositi e Prestiti as the majority shareholder of the JV, the support of the Institutions as well as the quality of the content and the market opportunity evidence in the Business Plan, persuaded CHILI’s shareholders to invest in this project.
- The digital platform will provide Italian quality content around the world, for free and under payment, live and on-demand, engaging all the country’s public and private cultural institutions that are now able to find an additional channel to earn visibility, share culture and reach economic enhancement.
- The 10 million euros approved by the Parliament will be transferred from MiBACT to CDP for the implementation of the JV and not paid into CHILI.
- On the contrary, CHILI will contribute to the JV by investing 9 million euros including technology, cash and management expertise.