Netflix has revealed how much it paid to acquire Ben Affleck’s AI company, InterPositive. According to The Hollywood Reporter, a new Securities and Exchange Commission filing shows the streaming giant spent $587 million in cash on the filmmaker’s startup earlier this year.
Why Ben Affleck Created InterPositive
The newly disclosed price answers one of the biggest questions surrounding Netflix’s acquisition. The company announced the deal in March, but the financial details remained private until the latest filing.
As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, InterPositive was founded in 2022 after Ben Affleck began exploring how artificial intelligence could solve technical filmmaking challenges. Rather than replacing writers, directors or actors, the company focused on improving visual effects and post-production.
When the deal was announced, Ben Affleck explained that protecting creativity had always been the goal.
“I knew I had a responsibility to my peers and our industry,” he wrote. He said he wanted to “protect the power of human creativity” while embracing technology that could support filmmakers.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, InterPositive developed a proprietary dataset on a closed soundstage. That work led to an AI model designed to understand “visual logic” and “editorial consistency.” It could also help solve production problems, including missing shots, incorrect lighting and background replacements.
How Ben Affleck Says the Technology Works
Additional details about the platform came from a Netflix video released after the acquisition.
According to the Daily Mail, Ben Affleck stressed that InterPositive is “not about text prompting or generating something from nothing.” Instead, filmmakers build AI models using footage from their own productions.
He said the goal is to remove technical obstacles that slow down productions.
“You can use your own model to remove the wires on stunts,” Ben Affleck explained. He added that it can also “reframe a shot,” “shape the lighting” and “enhance the backgrounds.”
Affleck argued that solving those problems gives filmmakers “more choice” and “more opportunity.” He also said the technology can lead to “more human work” rather than replacing creative jobs.
Netflix Is Already Expanding AI Across Productions
The acquisition also fits into Netflix’s broader AI strategy.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos recently said around 300 productions already use artificial intelligence during the creative process. Most of that work happens in post-production, although AI is also being used from concept development through to final delivery.
Sarandos said, “Gen AI is scaling quickly across the entire creative process.” He added that the technology is helping produce “higher quality output more quickly and efficiently.”
He pointed to the Tom Hanks-backed documentary “The American Experiment” as one example. Sarandos said the production included 17 minutes of “AI-enhanced” footage. Those sequences, he noted, were completed “twice as fast” and at “half the cost” of previous methods.
With the purchase price now public, Ben Affleck’s startup stands as one of Netflix’s biggest technology investments. The Oscar winner will also continue working with the company as a senior adviser, helping shape how AI is used in filmmaking while keeping creative storytelling at the center of the process.
