Netflix has officially confirmed that it paid Hollywood star, Ben Affleck an estimated USD 587 million in cash, to acquire his AI firm, InterPositive, thus putting to rest months of speculation surrounding the multi-million dollar deal.
Ben Affleck scores USD 587 million deal
The streaming giant disclosed the purchase price in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday, confirming earlier Bloomberg reports that the actor fetched around an impressive USD 600 million. According to the company’s Form 10-Q filing, obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, “in March 2026, the Company completed an acquisition which was accounted for as a business combination for a total purchase price of approximately USD 587 million, consisting of cash consideration.“
Ben Affleck on role of AI
Affleck founded InterPositive in 2022 and served as its chief executive officer. As part of the acquisition, the OTT giant also absorbed the company’s team, while the Oscar-winning actor-filmmaker continues with the streamer in an advisory capacity.Affleck has previously spoken about the role AI could play in filmmaking, stressing that it would only enhance creative work rather than replace it. “AI 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 for entry. That will allow more voices to be heard. That will make it easier for the people that want to make Good Will Hunting to go out and make it,” Affleck said in a video discussing the technology.He also explained, “AI is a craftsman at best — craftsmen can learn to make Stickley furniture by sitting down next to somebody and seeing what their technique is and imitating it….Craftsman is knowing how to work. Art is knowing when to stop. And I think knowing when to stop is going to be a very difficult thing for AI to learn, because it’s (about) taste.”
Netflix already using AI in productions
As reported by THR, co-CEO Ted Sarandos was asked how the company plans to leverage InterPositive and whether the acquisition would translate into long-term cost savings. He shared, “It’s early days for InterPositive but we’re we’re broadly seeing that gen-AI is starting to have an impact across hundreds of our productions.”He went on to add, “We’re making higher-quality output more quickly and effectively than we would have using traditional methods. Gen AI workflows now have been used in roughly 300 of our titles, with the largest concentration to date in post-production. We’re leveraging gen AI for really complicated shots and sequences.”According to Sarandos, large-scale crowd scenes and battle sequences are among the areas where generative AI is proving particularly effective.
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