Netflix paid $587M for Ben Affleck’s AI filmmaking startup

Key facts

• Netflix paid $587 million in cash for Ben Affleck's AI startup, InterPositive.
• InterPositive's AI tools assist filmmakers with post-production, addressing issues like missing shots or incorrect lighting.
• Ben Affleck joined Netflix as a senior advisor as part of the acquisition.
• The acquisition brought InterPositive's 16-person team of engineers, researchers, and creatives to Netflix.
• Around 300 Netflix titles have already used generative AI, primarily in post-production.

Netflix has disclosed in a recent regulatory filing that it paid $587 million in cash to acquire InterPositive, an AI startup co-founded by actor and director Ben Affleck. The streaming giant announced the acquisition in March, with Affleck stating his intention to "protect the power of human creativity" through the company's technology.

InterPositive's AI tools are designed to help filmmakers enhance footage during post-production, addressing challenges such as missing shots, background replacements, or incorrect lighting. The acquisition also brought InterPositive's 16-person team of engineers, researchers, and creatives to Netflix, with Affleck joining as a senior advisor.

While initial reports suggested the deal could be worth up to $600 million, Netflix's Form 10-Q filing confirmed the cash payment of approximately $587 million. Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos noted during an earnings call that generative AI is being rapidly scaled across the creative process, with around 300 of its titles having already utilized some form of AI, primarily in post-production. He cited the docuseries "The American Experiment" as an example, where AI-enhanced footage was produced twice as fast and at half the cost of traditional methods, though he emphasized that AI serves as a tool for artists rather than a replacement.

Affleck, who founded InterPositive in 2022, aimed to develop AI tools that kept "filmmakers at the center of the process." He highlighted technology's evolution alongside artists and expressed a shared commitment with Netflix to responsibly apply and scale technology.