Netflix spent $587M on Ben Affleck’s AI startup

Netflix paid $587 million in cash for InterPositive, the filmmaking startup founded by Ben Affleck in 2022, according to a Variety report tying the figure to Netflix’s latest Form 10-Q filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The filing does not name the company acquired in March, but the timing lines up with Netflix’s March 5 announcement that it was buying InterPositive. A Bloomberg report had previously estimated the deal could be worth as much as $600 million.

When the acquisition was announced, Netflix described it as “investing in creator-led innovation that keeps filmmakers at the center of the process.” Affleck, in the same announcement, said he had spent much of 2022 watching the early rise of production AI and concluded that existing models fell short for filmmakers.

“In 2022, I spent a lot of time observing the early rise of AI in production. 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.”

In a video released with the deal, Affleck said InterPositive was not focused on text prompts or generating content from scratch. Instead, he said, the company builds a model tailored to a specific film and uses it in post-production tasks such as mixing and coloring, with the goal of freeing filmmakers to focus on performances during production.

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According to Deadline, a 2024 patent application filed by Affleck said InterPositive’s technology could deliver “substantial” savings. The application said it could potentially replace costs tied to background artists, splinter film units, and reshoots, leading to a 20% reduction in schedule and physical production and a 50% reduction in VFX cost.