Netflix to Pay Up to $600 Million for Ben Affleck’s AI Company

Netflix is set to pay up to $600 million for Ben Affleck’s new AI moviemaking company, InterPositive.

According to reports from Bloomberg, the streaming service marked one of its biggest purchases ever for Affleck’s new company. The outlet states that the actual price paid out in cash was less than the $600 million price tag, but InterPositive’s investors – including Affleck – will earn more based on “certain performance targets.”

Netflix declined to comment to TheWrap.

It was announced last week that the streamer was acquiring Affleck’s moviemaking technology company as they expand its suite of AI-powered tools for filmmakers. The deal will integrate InterPositive’s team of engineers, researchers, creatives and producers directly into Netflix. Affleck also comes aboard as a senior advisor.

“It’s not text to video prompts, but rather tools that fit into real production workflows and respect the artistic intent that’s behind the story,” Elizabeth Stone, Netflix chief technology and product officer, told TheWrap last week. “It’s really anchored in the story that the director is telling and it’s tailored to that specific production, which is really what allows the controllability and consistency that can be very hard to get with other AI models and tools. So the creator is able to very flexibly iterate, adjust and refine shots using their own production’s data.”

In order to protect creators, InterPositive’s model is trained solely on dailies from a specific film or television production to ensure the output is relevant. The tools can be used on any live-action film or TV show during the production or post-production process to address challenges such as replacing missing shots, reframing existing shots, correcting lighting and replacing or enhancing backgrounds.

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