Netflix will reportedly pay up to $600 million for InterPositive, an AI filmmaking tools startup founded by Ben Affleck, in one of its biggest acquisitions in history.
Affleck and Interpositive investors stand to earn up to $600 million from the Netflix deal if the company meets “certain performance goals,” Bloomberg reported, citing anonymous sources. Netflix paid InterPositive less up front, according to reports.
Netflix declined to comment.
Netflix announced a deal on March 5 to acquire Affleck’s Interpositive for undisclosed financial terms. The entire InterPositive team of 16 engineers, researchers, and creatives will join Netflix through the acquisition, and Affleck will provide continued guidance as a senior advisor to Netflix. This comes one week after Paramount Skydance upped its hostile bid for WBD by $1 per share and offered a winning bid of $31 per share, a week after Netflix terminated its deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery’s studio and streaming operations and opted not to make a counteroffer.
Neither Netflix nor Affleck have disclosed who the investors in Interpositive are, other than Affleck himself. The Los Angeles-based company has been in stealth mode since he founded it in 2022.
Affleck said the InterPositive system builds an AI model based on existing production daily reports and allows filmmakers to bring that model into the post-production process to provide features such as mix and color, relighting shots and adding visual effects.
Netflix plans to provide access to InterPositive’s technology to creative partners, but has no plans to sell it commercially. Bela Bajaria, Netflix’s chief content officer, touted that InterPositive’s AI technology can give partners “more choice, more control, and protection of their vision.”
In a statement about Netflix and InterPositive’s deal, Affleck said, “I couldn’t be more excited to continue this work with the team at Netflix, and look forward to providing the broader creative community with access to what we’ve built and the future we’re aiming for together.”
