Netflix pays $587M for Ben Affleck's InterPositive in massive AI filmmaking bet

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

In a new regulatory filing, Netflix revealed that it paid $587 million in cash for InterPositive, a startup co-founded by actor and director Ben Affleck. The streaming company announced the acquisition in March, with a statement from Affleck saying he wanted to "protect the power of human creativity." According to Affleck, InterPublic's AI tools help filmmakers improve their footage in post-production, particularly when it comes to making up for "real-world production challenges such as missing shots, background replacements or incorrect lighting." At the time, Netflix announced that the entire InterPositive team would be joining the company, with Affleck joining as a senior advisor, but it didn't disclose the financial terms of the deal. A subsequent report in Bloomberg suggested that the deal could be worth up to $600 million. In its most recent earnings report, Netflix said that around 300 of its titles have already used generative AI.

Netflix shows its love for AI once again -- the platform has acquired Ben Affleck's firm InterPositive for $587 million, and it's just given me another reason to cancel my subscription

* Netflix announced it bought AI firm InterPositive for $587 million * It acquired the company back in March * Though the partnership claims to support human creativity, it's still ringing alarm bells for subscribers Netflix is taking another huge step into its investment in AI -- now the streaming platform has completed its $587 million acquisition of startup company InterPositive, the Ben Affleck-owned enterprise that offers AI-powered filmmaking services. The streaming giant first announced its acquisition of InterPositive back in March, when Bloomberg predicted that Netflix could pay up to $600 million. The company's recent Form 10-Q report confirms this, and it also reveals that Netflix paid the sum in cash. Affleck launched InterPositive back in 2022, providing filmmakers with tools to create their own AI model using production dailies to fine-tune post-production work including visual effects, mixing, and relighting shots. Despite its AI-focus, Affleck has been vocal about his aims to protect human artistry, saying he wanted to "preserve what makes human storytelling human, which is judgement" and to "protect the power of human creativity" at the time of the company's inception. That said, the acquisition is certainly a bold move from Netflix given how much criticism its investments in AI has garnered. Prior to its 10-Q report, Netflix released a shareholder newsletter which admitted to using AI 'on '300 movies and shows' in 2026, such as the docuseries The American Experiment. Co-CEO of Netflix, Ted Sarandos, went into further detail on this, stating that these AI tools helped produce accompanying visual elements "twice as fast and at half the cost of previous options," according to Variety. As you can imagine, this hasn't settled well with loyal Netflix subscribers who are tired of the platform canceling shows and instead prioritizing AI tools. Since the acquisition sum was revealed, Reddit has been flooded with concerns over what this could mean for future Netflix productions and the creative teams behind them. One user on Reddit noted that despite the rapid improvements of AI tools, post-production and visual effects departments remain major employers in the entertainment industry. The same user states that business transactions like this are "literally just a mass layoff", adding, "We do not want this. Humans are artists". Netflix's half-a-billion-dollar acquisition of InterPositive is the icing on the cake of what could spell a decaying trust from its subscribers, and it makes me even more concerned about the artistic value and production ethics of the company's future movies and shows. Right now, Netflix is not in my good books, and I've been quite vocal about its rash decisions to chase AI and social media-like content. The company recently announced plans to expand its range of content, bringing videos from popular online outlets to the platform -- when we already have YouTube for that. Additionally, Netflix's prioritization of tacky reality shows over quality drama titles is another topic that's being discussed, mainly surrounding its upcoming Wonka-themed show. This project also has a huge AI element, as the company has used technology to recreate the voice of Gene Wilder from the original 1971 movie, another distasteful move in my eyes. It appears that Netflix isn't doing a good job of keeping subscribers hooked with its growing involvement in AI and ignorance of the survival of its original titles. Is the best streaming service digging its own grave? Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.

Netflix pays $600 million for Ben Affleck's company to supercharge its content with AI

Netflix just paid $587 million in cash for Ben Affleck's AI startup, indicating the streaming giant's growing commitment to generative AI tools integrating or being used to assist in filmmaking. The acquisition of Affleck's company, called InterPositive, was revealed in a recent regulatory filing and marks one of the largest deals yet in the AI content creation space. Affleck, who co-founded the startup in 2022, said his goal with InterPositive was to "protect the power of human creativity" through AI tools that assist in post-production challenges like missing shots and lighting corrections. Netflix stated that around 300 of its titles have already used InterPositive's tools, and the full team will now join the company, with Affleck serving as a senior advisor. Netflix has been steadily ramping up its use of generative AI in production, and this acquisition gives it direct control over the technology, which it will undoubtedly roll out to its numerous projects in various ways. It also raises questions about how much further studios will go in automating creative workflows. But what does InterPositive do exactly? According to reports, Affleck's company creates tailored AI-powered tools for each individual project, and any generative work is based entirely on footage the project has already shot, ruling out any copyright infringement concern.

Netflix Reveals the Staggering Price of Its AI Deal With Ben Affleck

The deal was announced in March, but the financial details were not disclosed at that time. InterPositive has been described as "a production-grade AI platform for Hollywood filmmaking." It does not produce generative AI videos. Instead, its technology is incorporated into the postproduction process to help adjust color and lighting, add visual effects, reframe shots, and complete other crucial tasks that might otherwise require expensive and time-consuming reshoots. "It's not about text-prompting or generating something from nothing," Affleck explained in the video that Netflix shared when the acquisition was announced. "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." The AI-powered filmmaking platform will give Netflix's partners "more choices, more control, and more protection for their vision," said chief content officer Bela Bajaria. "We believe new tools should expand creative freedom, not constrain it or replace the work of writers, directors, actors, and crews."