Netflix has officially confirmed that it is paying the Hollywood star, Ben Affleck approximately USD 587 million in cash, to acquire his AI company, InterPositive, thereby ending months of speculation surrounding the multi-million dollar deal.
Ben Affleck scored a 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 reports by Bloomberg that the actor was getting 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 considered a business combination for a total purchase price of approximately USD 587 million, which includes cash consideration.“
Ben Affleck in the role of AI
Affleck founded InterPositive in 2022 and serves 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 continued with the streamer in an advisory capacity.Affleck has previously talked about the role AI can play in filmmaking, stressing that it can only enhance the creative process rather than replace it. “AI will disintermediate the more laborious, less creative, and more expensive aspects of filmmaking. That will allow costs to be brought down. That will lower the barrier to entry. That will allow more voices to be heard. That will make it easier for people who want to make Good Will Hunting to go out and do it,” Affleck said in a video discussing the technology.He also explained, “AI is a craftsman at its best – craftsmen can learn to make Stickley tools by sitting next to someone and seeing what their technique is and imitating it….Craftsman is knowing how to work. Art knows when to stop. And I think knowing when to stop is going to be a hard thing for AI to figure out, because it’s (part of) taste.
Netflix already uses AI in productions
As reported by THR, co-CEO Ted Sarandos was asked how the company plans to leverage InterPositive and whether the acquisition will translate into long-term cost savings. He shared, “It’s early days for InterPositive but we’re already seeing gen-AI start to have an impact on hundreds of our products.”He continued to add, “We produce higher quality output faster and more efficiently than we used traditional methods. Gen AI workflows are now used in almost 300 of our titles, with the largest concentration so far in post-production. We use gen AI for complex shots and sequences.”According to Sarandos, large crowd scenes and battle sequences are among the areas where generative AI has proven effective.