Netflix acquires Ben Affleck's AI filmmaking startup to enhance post-production capabilities

Netflix buys Ben Affleck's AI filmmaking company InterPositive | TechCrunch

Netflix on Thursday morning said it is acquiring InterPositive, a filmmaking technology company founded in 2022 by actor Ben Affleck. The acquisition aligns with Netflix's approach to the use of generative AI in filmmaking: The company has already used generative AI for special effects in some original content, and has assured investors that it is "very well positioned to effectively leverage ongoing advances in AI." Affleck wrote in a statement that he began thinking about how AI would impact the future of filmmaking in 2022. He says he wanted to "preserve what makes human storytelling human, which is judgement," and sought to "protect the power of human creativity." InterPositive isn't trying to make AI actors or synthetic performances. Rather, the company has created a model that helps production teams work with footage from their own productions to help make edits in post-production, like addressing continuity issues, making lightning adjustments, or enhancements to the environment. "Intensive research and development led to our first model, trained to understand visual logic and editorial consistency, while preserving cinematic rules under real-world production challenges such as missing shots, background replacements or incorrect lighting," Affleck wrote. "We also built in restraints to protect creative intent, so the tools are designed for responsible exploration while keeping creative decisions in the hands of artists -- and ensuring that the benefits of this technology flow directly back to the story they're trying to tell." Affleck is joining Netflix as a senior advisor as part of the deal. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. "Our approach to AI has always been focused on meaningfully serving the needs of the creative community and our members," Elizabeth Stone, Netflix's chief product and technology officer, said in a statement. "The InterPositive team is joining Netflix because of our shared belief that innovation should empower storytellers, not replace them."

Netflix is buying Ben Affleck's AI startup

Though Netflix lost the war for Warner Bros., it has just bought an AI startup from the internet's favorite Dunkin' Donuts aficionado. Today, Netflix announced that it has acquired InterPositive, Ben Affleck's AI company that specializes in tools for film and television production. The deal will see all 16 of InterPositive's current team of engineers and researchers move over to Netflix. Affleck is also set to join the streamer as a senior advisor. In a statement about the acquisition and his reasons for founding InterPositive in 2022, Affleck said he was inspired to get into the tech space after "observing the early rise of AI in production" and finding many of the tools lacking. Affleck felt that he "had a responsibility to [his] peers and our industry, to protect the power of human creativity and the people behind it." And he thinks that Netflix's history of "applying and scaling technology responsibly" makes them the ideal partner to take InterPositive to the next level. "I wanted to build a workflow that captures what happens on a set, with vocabulary that matched the language cinematographers and directors already spoke and included the kind of consistency and controls they would expect," Affleck explained. Unlike AI models designed to generate visual outputs based on text, InterPositive's tech is focused on ingesting dailies (raw footage from in-progress productions) and creating assets that can then be incorporated into the post-production process. In a video with Netflix's chief technology officer Elizabeth Stone and head content officer Bela Bajaria, Affleck said that using InterPositive's customized models can enable filmmakers to more effectively mix, color correct, and develop special effects for their projects. The models can be used to manipulate backgrounds, reframe shots, and edit out visual elements like stunt wires that shouldn't be visible. Affleck says that this can all be done more quickly and easily using his company's product. But he also emphasized that InterPositive's models are meant to help actors focus on their performances without worrying about "all the logistical, difficult, technical stuff." InterPositive's main selling point is that, because its models are trained specifically on individual projects, they can produce assets that are unique and tailored to a filmmaker's vision. The models need dailies in order to churn out anything useful, which means they also need humans. Netflix has yet to announce when and how it will deploy InterPositive's tech with its internally-developed projects. But when the time comes, the streamer is likely banking on audiences not knowing or caring that they're watching more films and series crafted with AI.

Netflix Acquires Ben Affleck-Founded AI Moviemaking Business

Netflix Inc. acquired InterPositive, an AI filmmaking technology business founded four years ago by actor Ben Affleck. The company uses artificial intelligence to help moviemakers perform tasks such as adjusting colors, applying visual effects and reframing shots, and learns as it goes. The tool is designed to be applied to a film in postproduction, not used to create a new one from scratch. Financial terms weren't disclosed. Affleck will join Netflix as a senior adviser, according to a statement Thursday. InterPositive employs about a dozen people. AI has a growing presence in Hollywood, with studios such as Walt Disney Co. and Paramount Skydance Corp. exploring use of the technology. It's also created concerns that the tools will put actors, screenwriters and other staffers out of work. Affleck observed the early use of AI in film production and was disappointed, according to the statement. He worked with a small team of engineers and researchers to create a proprietary dataset on a soundstage. "I saw what I thought was a real opportunity and a real authentic danger," he said. "But mostly I thought this is a really meaningful innovation." Affleck shared an Oscar for best original screenplay with Matt Damon for 1997's Good Will Hunting and won best picture as a producer of 2012's Argo. He produced and starred with Damon in the crime thriller The Rip for Netflix this year.

Netflix acquires Ben Affleck's AI film-tech firm

March 5 (Reuters) - Netflix (NFLX.O), opens new tab said on Thursday it has acquired InterPositive, a filmmaking technology company founded by Academy Award winner Ben Affleck that produces artificial intelligence-powered tools for movie production. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The media industry is warming up to the idea of using AI for content and storytelling, a major pivot from Hollywood's earlier concerns about the new technology challenging creative jobs and ⁠intellectual property rights. Late last year, Disney announced plans to allow OpenAI to use characters from its Star Wars, Pixar and Marvel franchises in the startup's Sora AI video generator. "We believe new tools should expand creative freedom, not constrain it or replace the work of writers, directors, actors, and crews," Netflix Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria said. The acquisition is the streaming giant's first since backing ⁠out of a high-stakes race to acquire Warner Bros Discovery's studio and streaming assets after Paramount Skydance's rival bid was deemed as superior. Affleck, director and star of Oscar-winning film "Argo", founded InterPositive in 2022 by ⁠creating an AI model trained to understand visual logic and editorial consistency, while maintaining cinematic rules under real-world production challenges such as missing ⁠shots or incorrect lighting. "We also built in restraints to protect creative intent, so the tools are designed for responsible exploration ⁠while keeping creative decisions in the hands of artists," Affleck said. Affleck will be joining Netflix as a senior advisor. Reporting by Harshita Mary Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Netflix just bought an AI startup founded by Ben Affleck

Netflix has acquired an AI filmmaking , according to a report by Variety. This is a company that was founded by actor Ben Affleck back in 2022. Don't worry if you haven't heard of it. Affleck has been operating the company in stealth mode for the past few years, so this is pretty much it's big coming-out party. The terms of the acquisition haven't been disclosed, but Affleck will remain on as a senior advisor to Netflix. Additionally, the entire staff will be absorbed into the streaming platform. Affleck says he started the company after "observing the early rise of AI in production" and realizing how the "models came up short." The company makes tools that generate AI models based on an existing production's dailies. This lets filmmakers use the model in the post-production process to do stuff like mix and color, relight shots and add visual effects. Affleck adds that this tech is "not about text-prompting or generating something from nothing." Netflix says the company will keep "filmmakers at the center of the process." The company to whip up a VFX shot in a show called The Eternaut. It's also been using AI . We'll have to wait and see if creators do indeed remain at the center of things. Netflix will offer access to InterPositive's tech to creative partners but has no plans to sell it commercially. To Affleck's credit, he seems to have a nuanced understanding of modern AI tools. "We also need to preserve what makes storytelling human, which is judgment," he said. "The kind that takes decades to build, experience to hone and that only people can have. I knew I had a responsibility to my peers and our industry, to protect the power of human creativity and the people behind it." However, it's worth reiterating that the company is no longer in Affleck's hands, as he is now just an advisor.

Netflix buys Ben Affleck's AI filmmaking startup

InterPositive, a stealth company Affleck founded in 2022 and never publicly acknowledged, builds post-production AI tools trained on real footage rather than text prompts. Netflix is acquiring it just as Hollywood unions sit down for a new round of contract talks. For four years, Ben Affleck has been running a technology company that nobody in Hollywood knew about. InterPositive, the AI filmmaking startup he founded in 2022 and quietly incorporated under the name Fin Bone LLC, emerged from stealth on Thursday morning, not through a product launch or a funding announcement, but through its acquisition by Netflix. The timing is impeccably loaded. Netflix is in the middle of a turbulent stretch in its M&A ambitions, having walked away from a bid for Warner Bros. Discovery's studios and streaming businesses just days earlier. And the deal lands precisely as above-the-line Hollywood unions are preparing for a new round of contract negotiations with studios and streamers, Netflix among them. Anything touching AI and production is, as Deadline put it, "a third rail" for the industry right now. Netflix is well aware of this. Along with the acquisition announcement, it published a five-minute video featuring Affleck alongside chief content officer Bela Bajaria and chief product and technology officer Elizabeth Stone, apparently designed to get out in front of the obvious question: is this the streamer quietly automating jobs it recently agreed not to? The answer Affleck offers is a careful one, and it is worth understanding on its own terms before deciding whether to believe it. InterPositive does not do what most people picture when they hear "AI filmmaking." It does not generate video from text prompts. It does not create synthetic actors or fabricate performances. What it does is considerably more specific, and considerably more useful to working directors and cinematographers. The company filmed a proprietary training dataset on a controlled soundstage, built to resemble a real production environment. From that foundation, it developed a model trained to understand what it calls "visual logic and editorial consistency", in plain terms, the way shots are composed, lit, and edited, and the rules that make footage feel coherent when cut together. The result is a tool that operates on a production's own dailies rather than generating imagery from scratch. In practice, that means a director can use InterPositive's model to relight a scene that was shot under the wrong conditions, replace a background without the visual inconsistency that typically plagues compositing, remove visible rigging from stunt sequences, or recover a shot that was missed on set. These are exactly the kinds of problems that consume enormous amounts of post-production time and money. They are also problems where human creative judgement has historically remained essential, the tool does not decide how a scene should look, it helps achieve a vision that already exists. "It's not about text-prompting or generating something from nothing," Affleck said in the video Netflix released alongside the announcement. "AI, people mostly think of it as making something from nothing: I'm gonna type something into a computer and it's gonna give me a movie. That's not what this is." Affleck is not primarily a technology entrepreneur. He is an Oscar-winning filmmaker, he co-wrote Good Will Hunting and directed Argo, which won Best Picture at the 2013 Academy Awards, and his interest in AI started, by his own account, from watching what he saw going wrong in the industry around him. In 2022, he became worried about the direction AI development was taking in filmmaking, particularly efforts by some technology companies to, as he described it in the Netflix video, "get the human out of it." His response was to build the alternative he wanted to see: tools that preserve what he calls the "judgement" that professional filmmakers spend decades acquiring. "The kind that takes decades to build, experience to hone, and that only people can have," he wrote in a statement Netflix published Thursday. He never mentioned the company publicly during those four years, even as he became one of Hollywood's more prominent voices on AI, including a widely quoted 2024 appearance at CNBC's Delivering Alpha summit, where he said AI "cannot write you Shakespeare" and that its role was that of a "craftsman" rather than a "creative." The audience heard a philosophical statement. Ben Affleck had a company. For Netflix, the acquisition is a rare move. The company has historically preferred to build technology in-house rather than acquire it. Its last deal of note, before the abortive Warner Bros. Discovery approach, was the December purchase of Ready Player Me, an avatar creation platform. The InterPositive deal, according to Deadline, grew out of a conversation Affleck initiated with Netflix executives last autumn, drawing on a relationship that had already produced The Rip, the action film he co-starred in with Matt Damon released in January, and was formalized this week with a first-look deal between Netflix and Affleck's production company, Artists Equity. Netflix has confirmed that all 16 members of the InterPositive team will join the company. It also confirmed that InterPositive's technology will be made available to Netflix's creative partners, and notably, that it has no plans to sell it commercially. This is a full acquisition, not a licensing arrangement. The tools will be exclusive to Netflix productions. That exclusivity is arguably the sharpest strategic element of the deal. Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said in 2024 that "there's a better business and a bigger business in making content 10% better than it is making it 50% cheaper", a framing that positioned AI as a quality tool rather than a cost-cutting one. InterPositive fits that framing precisely. If the technology works as described, it gives Netflix's productions a post-production capability that competitors will not have access to. Whether Hollywood's unions will accept that framing is the harder question. The deals writers and actors struck after the 2023 strikes established constraints on AI use, but those agreements are now being renegotiated, and the industry has shifted considerably in the intervening years. Unions have focused primarily on the risk of synthetic performances, AI actors replacing human ones, and on the use of AI to avoid paying writers for creative work. InterPositive, by design, does neither. What it does do is make certain below-the-line work, the relighting, compositing, and continuity management that employs large numbers of visual effects professionals -- faster and, potentially, cheaper to execute. Ben Affleck's framing carefully positions the technology as expanding creative freedom rather than reducing headcount. Netflix's framing echoes this. Whether the people whose jobs most directly intersect with what InterPositive does will read it the same way is something Thursday's announcement cannot settle. Affleck acknowledged as much in his CNBC remarks, noting that AI would "disintermediate the more laborious, less creative, and more costly aspects of filmmaking" and lower the barrier to entry for emerging filmmakers. That is genuinely true. It is also a description of work that somebody, currently, is being paid to do. The acquisition is a shrewd move by Netflix, acquiring proprietary technology, locking out competitors, and securing a credible filmmaker as its public face for AI in the creative process, all in one deal.

Netflix Taps Ben Affleck to Help Get More Filmmakers to Use AI

The video streaming company announced that is buying Ben Affleck's AI tech company InterPositive. Netflix is teaming up with Ben Affleck and leveraging the goodwill he’s earned with his views on AI to bring even more AI tools into filmmaking. The streaming giant announced today that it has acquired Affleck’s filmmaking tech company, InterPositive, which the actor quietly founded in 2022 to develop AI-powered tools for filmmakers. Netflix did not disclose the terms of the acquisition. But Variety reported that InterPositive’s 16-person team will join Netflix, with Affleck serving as a senior adviser. The company reportedly plans to offer InterPositive’s tools to its creative partners rather than selling commercial access to them. In a press release, Affleck explained his motivation for founding InterPositive. He wrote that after spending time observing the early rise of AI in film production, many of the models fell short. So, he decided to take matters into his own hands. “Together with a small team of engineers, researchers and creatives, I began filming a proprietary dataset on a controlled soundstage with all the familiarities of a full production,†Affleck said. “I wanted to build a workflow that captures what happens on a set, with vocabulary that matched the language cinematographers and directors already spoke and included the kind of consistency and controls they would expect." Affleck said the model was specifically trained to understand “visual logic and editorial consistency.†In a video accompanying the announcement, Affleck emphasized that the tool is “not about text prompting or generating something from nothing.†Instead, filmmakers can build their own model using their movie's footage and then use it in post-production to make changes like removing stunt wires, creating missing shots, or adjusting backdrops, colors, and lighting. The news is somewhat surprising after Affleck’s past comments expressing a more skeptical view of AI have gon viral. In particular, he has questioned AI’s ability to write, saying that “by its nature it goes to the mean, the average.†“I don’t think it’s very likely that it’s gonna be able to write anything meaningful, or in particular, that it’s going to be making movies from whole cloth, like Tilly Norwood. That’s bullshit,†Affleck said on The Joe Rogan Podcast in January about AI, referencing the AI-generated actor. “Really, what it is, it's going to be a tool just like visual effects.†So it’s no surprise Netflix is tapping Affleck to help get filmmakers on the AI bandwagon. The company said last year that it plans to expand its use of AI. In a letter to shareholders in October, Netflix wrote that it aims to focus on “empowering creators with a broad set of GenAI tools to help them achieve their visions.†The company also highlighted some early examples of the technology in action. Netflix touted its use of de-aging AI in Happy Gilmore 2, and said the producers of Billionaires’ Bunker used AI tools to create concept art. Even before that, Netflix announced in July that the Argentinian sci-fi series El Eternauta featured what the company described as the “very first GenAI final footage to appear on screen†in a Netflix show or film With this new partnership, it’s pretty safe to assume that we’ll be seeing more AI show up in Netflix productions. Hopefully, Affleck can help prevent it from being too cringe.

Netflix just acquired an AI-tech filmmaking company - 9to5Mac

Netflix is no longer buying Warner Bros. Discovery or HBO Max, but the company just announced an entirely separate acquisition: InterPositive, a company founded by Ben Affleck that "develops AI-powered tools built by and for filmmakers." From Netflix's announcement: Today, Netflix, Inc. announced the acquisition of InterPositive, the filmmaking technology company founded by Ben Affleck that develops AI-powered tools built by and for filmmakers. InterPositive's mission -- to use emerging technology in ways that protect and expand creative choice -- is deeply aligned with Netflix's long-standing belief that innovation should serve storytellers and the creative process. For more than two decades, Netflix has paired technology with artistry to help great films and shows find their audience. By bringing InterPositive's entire team into Netflix through this acquisition, and with Affleck joining as Senior Advisor, we're investing in creator-led innovation that keeps filmmakers at the center of the process. Though financial terms have not been disclosed, this is clearly a far smaller acquisition for Netflix than its Warner Bros. bid. Size aside though, the news comes with potential ripple effects for the film and TV industry as a whole. The use of AI in film and TV production is still in its early days, and by acquiring InterPositive, Netflix shows that it wants to be at the forefront of innovation. That innovation, however, will likely come at the cost of industry jobs within the Hollywood community. InterPositive doesn't build tools that are meant to create films with a simple text prompt, the way an app like Sora might for shortform content. Instead, it focuses on taking portions of the production and post-production process and making them easier for the creatives involved. However, Netflix being a leader in this space means plenty of other companies -- perhaps even Apple -- will likely follow its example. How do you expect AI to reshape the film and TV industry moving forward? Let us know in the comments.

Netflix acquires Ben Affleck's AI company

Hollywood A-lister Ben Affleck says his company InterPositive's AI tools "take out all the logistical, difficult, technical stuff that often gets in the way" of the filmmaking process. Clive Mason/Getty Images hide caption Netflix is acquiring Ben Affleck's AI-powered filmmaking tool company, InterPositive, for an undisclosed sum. In a video accompanying the company's announcement on Thursday, Ben Affleck said InterPositive's technology helps filmmakers to build their own, proprietary AI models based on the scenes they've already shot, and then use that data to help solve otherwise laborious details. "You can use your own model to remove the wires on stunts, reframe a shot, get a shot you missed, shape the lighting, enhance the backgrounds," said the Oscar-winning director, producer, writer and actor, who has also joined Netflix as a senior advisor. In an email to NPR, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), the main union supporting Hollywood's technical workers, including camera operators, lighting and sound technicians, grips, script supervisors, among other industry disciplines, said it does not comment on mergers and acquisitions. This is just the latest agreement the Oscar-winning filmmaker has struck with Netflix. Earlier this week, Affleck and Matt Damon's production company, Artists Equity, signed a major multi-year partnership with the streamer. The agreement gives Netflix first dibs to develop and distribute all of the pair's future streaming-focused projects. Affleck has also made and released multiple movies in collaboration with Netflix, most recently The Rip, a thriller starring Affleck and Damon as Miami narcotics officers who find a secret hoard of drug money. Despite his tech interests, Affleck has expressed a desire to keep humans at the center of the creative process. He is among the hundreds of Hollywood insiders to sign on to the Creators Coalition on AI. The group, established late last year, describes itself on its website as "a central hub for cross-industry discussions about how AI is impacting the entertainment industry." "This is not a full rejection of AI," the group stated. "The technology is here. This is a commitment to responsible, human-centered innovation." "The InterPositive team is joining Netflix because of our shared belief that innovation should empower storytellers, not replace them," said Elizabeth Stone, Netflix's chief product and technology officer, in a press release. She said the partnership would "continue building towards a future of entertainment where technology plays a part in how stories are made, but people -- and their ideas, craft and judgment -- remain at the core of great storytelling." The deal between InterPositive and Netflix comes just over a week since the streamer pulled out of its plan to acquire Warner Brothers Discovery. Paramount agreed to acquire the media giant in a deal valued at around $110 billion. On Feb. 26, the Warner Brothers Discovery board declared Paramount's bid to be "superior" to an $83 billion deal it had previously struck with Netflix. Kimberly A. Owczarski, an associate professor at Texas Christian University who studies media franchises, told NPR in an email that Netflix's decision to partner with a filmmaker of Affleck's prominence sends out a positive message to an industry reeling from the threats posed by the growing adoption of AI across the entertainment landscape. "His status in the industry as a star, filmmaker, and producer gives substantial weight as he promotes a responsible use of AI in filmmaking," Owczarski said.

Ben Affleck sells his AI postproduction startup to Netflix

Announcing the InterPositive deal, the actor says he was moved from being scared of the technology to embracing it Ben Affleck has sold his artificial intelligence company to Netflix in a surprise deal, saying he had been driven to embrace a technology that had initially "really scared" him. Netflix has acquired the postproduction startup InterPositive from the Oscar-winning actor, director, producer and screenwriter for an undisclosed sum. Affleck had kept InterPositive below the radar and had previously played down AI's creative abilities. This year, he told the podcaster Joe Rogan he did not think the technology would be able to "write anything meaningful" or make films "from whole cloth". However, in a video announcing the transaction the Good Will Hunting and Gone Girl actor said he had moved from being scared of AI's potential impact when he first encountered the technology to viewing it as a "really meaningful innovation". Affleck said InterPositive did not provide video generation tools such as Google's Veo3 or OpenAI's Sora - it was "not about text prompting or generating something from nothing" - but instead helped in the post-production process. InterPositive tools are trained on a film or TV production's own footage, or dailies, and helps deal with issues such as reframing shots, adjusting incorrect lighting and removing the wires from stunt performers, said Affleck. The media industry is warming to the idea of using AI for content and storytelling, in a significant pivot from Hollywood's earlier concerns about the technology challenging creative jobs and intellectual property rights. Late last year, Disney announced plans to allow OpenAI to use characters from the media and entertainment company's Star Wars, Pixar and Marvel franchises in the Sora AI video generator. Announcing the acquisition of InterPositive, Bela Bajaria, Netflix's chief content officer, said: "We believe new tools should expand creative freedom, not constrain it or replace the work of writers, directors, actors, and crews." Last month, Netflix backed out of a high-stakes race to acquire Warner Bros Discovery's studio and streaming assets after Paramount Skydance's rival bid was deemed as superior. Netflix had offered $82.7bn (£62bn). Affleck, who directed the Oscar-winning film Argo, founded InterPositive in 2022 by creating an AI model trained to understand visual logic and editorial consistency, while maintaining cinematic rules under real-world production challenges such as missing shots or incorrect lighting. "We also built in restraints to protect creative intent, so the tools are designed for responsible exploration while keeping creative decisions in the hands of artists," He said. Affleck will be joining Netflix as a senior advisor as part of the deal..

Netflix buys Ben Affleck's AI startup

Affleck founded InterPositive in 2022 after realizing that existing AI video models weren't ready to produce Hollywood-grade footage from scratch. "Together with a small team of engineers, researchers and creatives, I began filming a proprietary dataset on a controlled soundstage with all the familiarities of a full production," he says. With the help of this training data, InterPositive then developed its own video model, optimized for use in real-world production environments. "We also built in restraints to protect creative intent, so the tools are designed for responsible exploration while keeping creative decisions in the hands of artists," Affleck says. InterPositive has been operating in stealth until today, and a Netflix spokesperson declined to share details about the company's staff. However, a bit of digging revealed that InterPositive was originally incorporated as Fin Bone LLC, an entity that has applied for a number of patents related to AI filmmaking tools in the U.S. and overseas. (Those patents credit Affleck as the inventor.)

Ben Affleck Just Sold His 'Stealth' AI Startup to Netflix for $600 Million. Here's What It Actually Does

Until recently, Netflix had largely avoided large-scale acquisitions, preferring to build capabilities internally rather than buy them. The largest acquisition Netflix has ever completed was its roughly $700 million purchase of the Roald Dahl Story Company, meaning the InterPositive deal ranks among the company's most significant investments to date, Tech Crunch reported. Netflix has not publicly confirmed the transaction's value. Bloomberg reported that the actual cash payment may be lower than $600 million because InterPositive's owners are eligible for additional payouts tied to performance targets. What is InterPositive? Ben Affleck's Stealth Tech Explained InterPositive develops AI tools designed to help filmmakers work more efficiently during post-production. The software can address continuity errors, enhance scenes, and streamline editing workflows. The technology, however, doesn't generate entirely new content or use footage without permission.

Netflix acquires Ben Affleck's AI tech company InterPositive

(NewsNation) -- Netflix has acquired an AI tech company quietly founded by Ben Affleck. The streaming giant announced March 5 that it bought InterPositive, which develops AI-powered tools built by and for filmmakers. InterPositive uses new technology in "ways that protect and expand creative choice," Netflix said, adding that the company's mission aligns with its belief that "innovation should serve storytellers and the creative process." "I knew I had a responsibility to my peers and our industry, to protect the power of human creativity and the people behind it," Affleck said in Netflix's press release. "In creating InterPositive, I sought to do just that." As part of the deal, the Academy Award winner also joined the company as a senior adviser on the deal. Financial details on the deal are still unknown. "From the invention of the moving image to the transition to digital, from motion capture to virtual production, technology has evolved alongside the artists who use it," Affleck said. He added that he and Netflix share a "commitment to continuing this legacy," and their partnership and Netflix's years of applying technology are the "natural next step."

Netflix is getting serious about AI filmmaking with a surprising acquisition - Phandroid

Netflix has been dabbling in AI for a while now. But the company just made a move that shows it's ready to go much deeper. The streaming giant has acquired InterPositive, an AI filmmaking startup that actor and director Ben Affleck quietly founded back in 2022. The deal brings InterPositive's entire 16-person team into Netflix, with Affleck joining the company as a senior adviser. Before you start screaming "AI slop!", this isn't the kind of Netflix AI filmmaking tool you might be picturing. InterPositive doesn't generate video from text prompts like OpenAI's Sora. What it does is it takes the raw footage captured on set each day during a production (called dailies). It then uses that footage to build a custom AI model for that specific film or show. Filmmakers can then bring that model into post-production to handle various tasks. We're talking about color grading, relighting scenes, swapping out backgrounds, adding visual effects. It can even fix continuity problems between shots. The idea is that the model is trained entirely on footage you already own. This means it understands the specific look and lighting of what you're going for. Versus rather than generating something generic. Affleck said he started building it after noticing that most AI tools available to filmmakers "came up short," failing to account for the real-world complexities of a set. Netflix's chief content officer Bela Bajaria said the tools are designed to give filmmakers "more choices, more control and more protection for their vision." The company's chief product and technology officer Elizabeth Stone added that the acquisition happened because both teams share a belief that AI should help storytellers. Not replace them. It also comes just days after the streamer walked away from a bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery's studio and streaming businesses. Netflix has already used generative AI in some of its originals before,. This includes a building collapse sequence in the Argentine sci-fi series The Eternaut, so InterPositive fits right into where the company is already headed.

Netflix to pay as much as $600 million for AI filmmaking firm InterPositive: Bloomberg - The Economic Times

Netflix may pay up to $600 million for Ben Affleck's AI filmmaking company InterPositive, though the cash price is lower with extra earnings tied to performance targets. The deal suggests Hollywood is warming to AI-created content. Founded in 2022, InterPositive uses AI to maintain cinematic logic and fix production issues like lighting errors.Streaming giant Netflix will pay as much as $600 million for Ben Affleck's artificial intelligence filmmaking company InterPositive, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the ⁠matter. The ⁠actual price, paid in cash, was less, the report said. InterPositive's owners are set to earn even more if it meets certain performance targets. The deal, announced last ⁠week, signals that Hollywood is warming up to the idea of using ⁠AI to create content. Netflix did not disclose the financial terms of the deal at the time. InterPositive is the streaming major's first acquisition since walking away from the bidding war for Warner Bros Discovery after Paramount ⁠Skydance's offer was deemed superior. Netflix did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Oscar-winning actor and director Affleck founded InterPositive in 2022, using AI to maintain cinematic logic and fix production issues like lighting errors or missing shots.

Netflix Just Broke Its Own Golden Rule to Buy Ben Affleck's Secret AI Startup

Netflix has historically favored building its own technology rather than buying it. But as artificial intelligence begins reshaping Hollywood, the streaming giant made an unusual move, acquiring Ben Affleck's start-up that makes AI-powered tools for filmmakers. In a rare deal, Netflix has purchased InterPositive. The L.A.-based AI company was quietly launched by Affleck in 2022 and rarely made its work public. The financial terms were not disclosed, but the startup's entire 16-person team of engineers, researchers, and creatives will join Netflix. Affleck will also serve as a senior advisor to the company, according to the announcement. Unlike emerging AI video generators such as OpenAI's Sora, InterPositive's technology isn't designed to produce films from text prompts. Instead, it analyzes footage already captured during production and helps filmmakers manipulate and refine it during postproduction. "It's not about text-prompting or generating something from nothing," Affleck said in a video shared alongside Netflix's announcement. "AI, people mostly think of it as making something from nothing: 'I'm gonna type something into a computer and it's gonna give me a movie.' That's not what this is."

Netflix buys AI filmmaking studio, founded by actor Ben Affleck

While there are plenty of filmmakers out there who don't want AI within a 100-foot radius of any of their creations, some are intrigued to see how the technology can help them make movies. Ben Affleck's new start-up, InterPositive, looks to make some of these tools and connect them with filmmakers. Netflix seems to think it's a good idea, as they've gone ahead and bought the start-up. In what Variety terms a rare acquisition, the entire team at InterPositive will be brought under the Netflix umbrella, with Affleck serving as a senior advisor to provide guidance to the streamer. Currently, the plan is to keep InterPositive's technology off the marketplace, allowing Netflix's creative teams to use it internally. Terms and figures involved in the acquisition have not been disclosed. This comes weeks after the Netflix deal with Warner Bros. turned sour, and just a week after it was officially confirmed that Paramount would instead be making the historic media buyout. "In 2022, I spent a lot of time observing the early rise of AI in production," Affleck said in a statement. "As a filmmaker, I could see how these models came up short. For artists to apply these tools towards telling the stories we dedicate our lives to, they need to be purpose-built to represent and protect all the qualities that make a great story: the nuances of filmmaking, the predictable -- and unpredictable -- challenges of production environments, the distortion of a lens or the way light shape-shifts across a scene."

Netflix Buys Ben Affleck's AI Filmmaking Startup InterPositive - Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX)

Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) shares are trading relatively flat on Thursday after the firm said it acquired filmmaking technology company InterPositive, founded by American actor Ben Affleck. * Netflix shares are consolidating. What should traders watch with NFLX? Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The move highlights Netflix's push to develop creator-focused artificial intelligence tools for film production. Affleck Joins Netflix The company said the acquisition brings InterPositive's entire team to Netflix and adds Affleck as a senior advisor. The initiative centers on AI tools designed for filmmakers rather than replacing creative roles. In a release dated January 20, Netflix said it ended the fourth quarter with gross debt of $14.5 billion and cash and cash equivalents of $9 billion. AI Tools Built For Filmmakers Netflix said InterPositive builds artificial intelligence systems tailored for real production environments. The technology aims to support editing workflows, lighting adjustments and scene continuity. The company said these tools focus on assisting creative teams while protecting artistic control. Netflix has long combined engineering capabilities with storytelling expertise to support film and television creators. InterPositive's platform emerged from research on how artificial intelligence could function inside real movie production settings. Affleck said he began studying AI's influence on filmmaking several years ago. He observed early systems struggled with cinematic nuance and practical production challenges. That gap inspired his team to design software that understands filmmaking processes. Affleck Explains Creative Vision Affleck described the project as an effort to ensure technology enhances storytelling rather than replacing creative judgment. "In 2022, I spent a lot of time observing the early rise of AI in production," Affleck said. "For artists to apply these tools towards telling the stories we dedicate our lives to, they need to be purpose-built to represent and protect all the qualities that make a great story." The team developed specialized datasets captured on controlled soundstages that mirrored real productions. Affleck said the tools deliberately avoid replicating performances. Instead, they focus on techniques that help directors and editors maintain narrative continuity. Netflix Expands Creator-Focused Technology Elizabeth Stone, Netflix chief product and technology officer, said the collaboration aligns with the company's philosophy on artificial intelligence. "Our approach to AI has always been focused on meaningfully serving the needs of the creative community and our members," Stone said. She added that the InterPositive team shares Netflix's belief that technology should empower storytellers rather than replace them. Bela Bajaria, Netflix chief content officer, said the company prioritizes creative trust with filmmakers and showrunners. "Our relationship with artists has always been grounded in trust," Bajaria said. She said the partnership continues a tradition for which creators guide technological innovation within the entertainment industry. NFLX Price Action: Netflix shares are trading higher by 0.18% to $98.48 at publication on Thursday. This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs To add Benzinga News as your preferred source on Google, click here.

Netflix acquires Ben Affleck's AI film-tech firm - The Economic Times

Netflix said on Thursday it has acquired InterPositive, a filmmaking technology company founded by Academy Award winner Ben Affleck that produces artificial intelligence-powered tools for movie production.Netflix said on Thursday it has acquired InterPositive, a filmmaking technology company founded by Academy Award winner Ben Affleck that produces artificial intelligence-powered tools for movie production. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The media industry is warming up to the idea of ⁠using ⁠AI for content and storytelling, a major pivot from Hollywood's earlier concerns about the new technology challenging creative jobs and intellectual property rights. Late last year, Disney announced plans to allow OpenAI to use characters from its Star Wars, Pixar and Marvel franchises in the startup's ⁠Sora AI video generator. "We believe new tools should expand creative freedom, not constrain it or replace the ⁠work of writers, directors, actors, and crews," Netflix Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria said. The acquisition is the streaming giant's first since backing out of a high-stakes race to acquire Warner Bros Discovery's studio and streaming assets after Paramount Skydance's rival bid was deemed as superior. Affleck, director and star of Oscar-winning film "Argo", founded InterPositive in 2022 by creating an AI model trained to understand visual logic and editorial consistency, ⁠while maintaining cinematic rules under real-world production challenges such as missing shots or incorrect lighting. "We also built in restraints to protect creative intent, so the tools are designed for responsible exploration while keeping creative decisions in the hands of artists," Affleck said. Affleck will be joining Netflix as a senior advisor.

Ben Affleck Quietly Founded a Filmmaker-Focused AI Tech Company. Netflix Just Bought It.

This isn't an output deal, it's a business deal, with the streaming giant set to acquire an AI-powered filmmaking technology company that Affleck quietly founded a few years ago: InterPositive. Affleck will join Netflix as a senior adviser in the deal, alongside all of InterPositive's staff. The company declined to comment on the terms of the acquisition. "I knew I had a responsibility to my peers and our industry, to protect the power of human creativity and the people behind it. In creating InterPositive, I sought to do just that," Affleck wrote in a Netflix post Thursday. "From the invention of the moving image to the transition to digital, from motion capture to virtual production, technology has evolved alongside the artists who use it. Our shared commitment to continuing this legacy makes joining together a natural next step, in addition to Netflix's decades of experience applying and scaling technology responsibly." InterPositive traces its origin story 2022, when Affleck decided that he wanted to explore the technology space. Working with engineers, researchers and creative executives, he founded the company, which developed proprietary AI-powered tools meant to help filmmakers create their films and shows in a fast, efficient way, while centering the humanity of it all. The company captured a proprietary dataset on a closed soundstage, eventually leading to the company's first model, which Affleck writes is "trained to understand visual logic and editorial consistency, while preserving cinematic rules under real-world production challenges such as missing shots, background replacements or incorrect lighting." In other words, the focus is on filmmaking technique, not the performance of the actors. The tool also allows directors or filmmakers to upload dailies to hone the model for a specific project. Still, anything that touches on AI has become something of a third rail for Hollywood. That may be why Netflix also released a video discussion Thursday, featuring Affleck, Netflix chief product and technology officer Elizabeth Stone, and chief content officer Bela Bajaria discussing what role the tech may play in the creative process, and what InterPositive and Netflix do differently than the AI giants threatening to swallow the rest of the economy. Watch: "Our relationship with artists has always been grounded in trust: supporting the full range of their creativity and ensuring they have the power to decide how their films and shows are made," Bajaria said in a statement. "We believe new tools should expand creative freedom, not constrain it or replace the work of writers, directors, actors, and crews. Ben and his team at InterPositive are part of a long tradition in our industry of artists leading the way in how innovation is used in storytelling. Their work is about giving filmmakers more choices, more control and more protection for their vision. We're excited to build on that legacy together, with creators and their artistic intentions at the center of everything we do." "Our approach to AI has always been focused on meaningfully serving the needs of the creative community and our members," Stone added. "The InterPositive team is joining Netflix because of our shared belief that innovation should empower storytellers, not replace them. InterPositive's impressive technology is purpose-built for filmmakers and showrunners to work with tools that naturally support their creative visions and how they want to bring them to life. We're excited to welcome the InterPositive team to Netflix and continue building towards a future of entertainment where technology plays a part in how stories are made, but people -- and their ideas, craft and judgment -- remain at the core of great storytelling." Affleck, of course, has a long relationship with Netflix. Just last week his production venture Artists Equity inked a streaming first-look deal with the company, and his next directorial feature, Animals, starring Affleck, Kerry Washington and Gillian Anderson, will be released on Netflix later this year. But the InterPositive deal puts Affleck in business with a major Hollywood player in an entirely new way, perhaps even as an evangelist for the technology. The actor and director has been expressing his thoughts on the tech for years, both dismissive of its ability to completely disintermediate all of entertainment, while also being hopeful about how it can enable filmmakers like himself to achieve their goals faster. "What AI is going to do is going to disintermediate the more laborious, less creative and more costly aspects of filmmaking that will allow costs to be brought down, that will lower the barrier to entry, that will allow more voices to be heard, that will make it easier for the people who want to make Good Will Huntings to go out and make it," Affleck told a CNBC conference in 2024. The InterPositive deal is also a rare acquisition for Netflix, which (putting aside the last couple of months), which has historically built internally rather than acquire outside firms. The company's last deal (again, forget Warner Bros.) was Ready Player Me, an avatar creation platform, which it bought in December.

Netflix makes surprising bet on Ben Affleck brand

Ben Affleck has spent years talking publicly about AI and filmmaking. He warned against tools that try to replace human creativity. He said AI cannot write Shakespeare. He drew a clear line between what machines can do and what only people can. What nobody knew was that the whole time, he was quietly building his own AI company. Netflix revealed it has acquired InterPositive, the AI filmmaking tools startup Affleck founded in 2022 and kept in complete stealth mode until now. The entire 16-person team joins Netflix, and Affleck takes on a senior adviser role. Financial terms were not disclosed. What InterPositive actually does Affleck was explicit about that distinction. "It's not about text-prompting or generating something from nothing," he said in a video Netflix released with the announcement. InterPositive works differently. It ingests a production's existing dailies and builds a project-specific AI model trained on that footage. The model then assists with post-production tasks including color grading, relighting shots, background replacements, adding visual effects, and fixing continuity errors from missing shots. The first model was trained to understand "visual logic and editorial consistency," preserving cinematic rules under real-world production challenges. The technology learns the specific visual language of a project, rather than generating something generically from scratch. What InterPositive's tools can do in post-production: * Relight shots to fix actor or camera errors without requiring a reshoot, matching the visual tone of surrounding footage * Generate missing shots that blend seamlessly with existing footage based on the project's own visual data * Automate routine color grading while preserving a cinematographer's creative decisions and intended look * Replace backgrounds and fix continuity errors using the production's own proprietary model rather than generic AI training data Why InterPositive acquisition matters for Netflix Netflix is not historically an acquirer. The company has almost always built internally rather than bought outside firms. This deal is a rare exception, and the timing is deliberate. Less than a week before the InterPositive announcement, Netflix walked away from a bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery's studios and streaming businesses after Paramount Skydance raised its hostile bid to $31 per share. Walking away from an $83 billion deal and immediately pivoting to a targeted AI acquisition sends a clear signal about where Netflix sees its future. Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said as much in 2024 when he framed the company's AI philosophy plainly: There is a bigger business in making content 10% better than making it 50% cheaper. InterPositive fits that vision precisely. The tools are designed to speed up post-production and reduce costly reshoots, not to cut writers or actors. The Hollywood context that complicates the Netflix-InterPositive deal Anything touching AI in Hollywood carries significant weight right now. The 2023 strikes by SAG-AFTRA and the WGA were partly driven by fears about AI replacing performers and writers. Those wounds are fresh, and the unions are watching every move the studios and streamers make. Netflix and Affleck both moved carefully around that reality. Netflix released a video featuring Affleck alongside chief product officer Elizabeth Stone and chief content officer Bela Bajaria, making the case that InterPositive's tools expand creative freedom rather than replace creative workers. "We believe new tools should expand creative freedom, not constrain it or replace the work of writers, directors, actors, and crews," Bajaria said in a statement. Affleck reinforced that position directly. "We also need to preserve what makes storytelling human, which is judgment," he said. "The kind that takes decades to build, experience to hone and that only people can have." Ord/Getty Images Why the union response to Netflix-InterPositivewill be critical to watch: * SAG-AFTRA and WGA contracts are up for renegotiation in 2027, and AI clauses are expected to be a central battleground in those talks. * InterPositive's focus on below-the-line post-production tasks rather than performances or writing gives it a more defensible position with above-the-line unions. * Netflix's decision to release a detailed video with Affleck explaining the technology signals awareness that trust, not just legal compliance, matters here. * VFX and post-production workers represented by IATSE may still push back on tools that reduce labor hours in their specific workflows. What the deal signals for Netflix investors Netflix does not plan to sell InterPositive's technology commercially. The tools will be offered to Netflix's own creative partners, keeping the capability as an internal competitive advantage rather than a revenue line. That is a significant strategic choice. It means Netflix is betting that faster, cheaper, higher-quality post-production is worth more as a moat than as a product. If InterPositive delivers on its projected cost reductions, Netflix could meaningfully expand margins on its $17 billion content budget without cutting the creative talent that drives subscriber growth. Analyst consensus on Netflix stock sits at a moderate buy with an average 12-month price target of about $1,150, according to TipRanks. The InterPositive deal is unlikely to move that number dramatically on its own, but it adds a credible layer to the AI infrastructure story Netflix has been building with investors. The broader implication is harder to quantify but easy to see. Netflix just acquired AI tools built by one of Hollywood's most recognizable filmmakers, framed entirely around protecting human creativity, announced at the same moment union negotiations are heating up. That is not an accident. It is a carefully constructed position in what is becoming the defining argument in the entertainment industry. The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc. This story was originally published March 6, 2026 at 8:07 PM.

Netflix Bets Big on AI, Ben Affleck's Startup Partners With Streaming Giant

Netflix Acquires Ben Affleck's AI Filmmaking Startup InterPositive to Transform Movie Production Netflix has made a significant move toward the future of filmmaking. Recent reports highlight that the streaming platform is acquiring InterPositive, an artificial intelligence startup founded by actor and director Ben Affleck. This acquisition highlights the streaming giant's growing interest in AI tools to support creative production. Once acquired, InterPositive's technology will become part of . The startup focuses on AI systems for professional film production rather than on simple automated video generation. Industry experts view this move as Netflix's broader strategy to strengthen its production pipeline. The use of AI will help filmmakers to work more efficiently. Further, it won't restrict the human storytelling method but will provide them with the necessary assistance.