Netflix may have paid $600 million for Ben Affleck’s AI startup

Last week, Netflix announced the acquisition of InterPositive, an AI company co-founded by Ben Affleck that helps filmmakers edit footage in post-production.

According to Bloomberg, the deal could be worth up to $600 million and rank among the streaming giant’s biggest acquisitions in history. The most Netflix ever paid for a single acquisition was about $700 million for the Roald Dahl Story Company.

Netflix has not publicly confirmed the details, but sources told Bloomberg that InterPositive’s owners will be eligible for additional payments based on certain performance targets, and the actual cash payout could be lower.

InterPositive creates tools that help filmmakers work more efficiently in post-production. For example, we may address continuity issues or enhance scenes, but we won’t generate new content or use footage without your permission.

The acquisition fits into Netflix’s broader efforts to integrate AI into content production. The company is already using generative AI in original shows and movies, including creating the building collapse scene for the Argentinian series “The Eternaut.”

Our competitors are moving in the same direction. Amazon is building an in-house AI team for film and TV projects, and Disney has a deal with OpenAI.

Not everyone is on board. Workers across the film industry have expressed concerns about potential job losses and whether AI companies are fairly compensating creators for their training data.