Netflix filing puts Ben Affleck AI startup deal at $587 million

Netflix has put a firm price on one of its more closely watched AI bets: $587 million in cash for InterPositive, the filmmaking technology startup co-founded by Ben Affleck. For investors, the disclosure turns a previously undisclosed acquisition into a clear line item tied to Netflix’s growing use of artificial intelligence in production.

The figure appeared in a new Netflix regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. A cash acquisition means the buyer paid with money rather than stock, so the amount gives shareholders a more direct view of what Netflix spent to bring the company and its tools in-house.

What Netflix bought

Netflix announced the InterPositive deal in March, but did not reveal the financial terms at the time. The company said then that InterPositive’s full team would join Netflix, and that Affleck would become a senior advisor.

Affleck, an actor and director, said in Netflix’s March announcement that he wanted to “protect the power of human creativity.” He described InterPositive’s tools as a way to help filmmakers improve footage after filming, a stage known as post-production.

According to Affleck’s statement at the time, the technology was meant to address production problems such as missing shots, replacing backgrounds or correcting lighting. Those are the kinds of fixes that can add time and cost when a movie or series is being completed.

Generative AI, software that can create or alter images, video, text or audio based on patterns learned from data, has become a major issue in entertainment. Studios see potential production efficiencies, while filmmakers and workers have raised concerns across the industry about creative control and labor impact. Netflix’s disclosure does not lay out how InterPositive’s tools will be used across future productions.

The price was close to earlier reports

The $587 million cash price lands near the upper end of what had been reported after the announcement. Bloomberg previously reported that the transaction could be worth as much as $600 million.

Netflix’s filing now provides the official number. Variety also reported the $587 million figure from the filing.

The deal comes as Netflix is already using AI across part of its programming slate. In its most recent earnings report, Netflix said around 300 of its titles had used generative AI.

That does not mean every one of those productions relied on AI in the same way. The company’s reported figure covers titles that used generative AI, but the filing and earnings disclosure do not provide a detailed breakdown of the specific tasks, productions or budgets involved.

For retail investors following Netflix, the InterPositive disclosure matters because it shows the company is willing to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on production technology, not just on content rights, talent and marketing. The size of the deal also gives a more concrete sense of how Netflix is valuing AI tools that could become part of its film and television workflow.

This story draws on original reporting from TechCrunch.