Netflix has officially confirmed that it has paid Hollywood star Ben Affleck an estimated $587 million in cash to acquire his artificial intelligence company InterPositive, putting an end to months of speculation surrounding the multi-million dollar deal.
Ben Affleck gets a deal worth $587 million
The streaming giant revealed the purchase price in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday, confirming previous Bloomberg reports that the actor made around US$600 million. According to the company’s Form 10-Q, obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, “In March 2026, the Company completed an acquisition that was deemed to be a business combination for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $587 million, consisting of cash consideration.
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Ben Affleck on the role of artificial intelligence
Affleck founded InterPositive in 2022 and serves as its CEO. As part of the acquisition, the OTT company has also absorbed the company’s team, while the Oscar-winning actor and director continues to work with the streamer in an advisory capacity.Affleck has previously spoken about the role that artificial intelligence can play in filmmaking, stressing that it will only enhance creative work and will not replace it. “AI will disintermediate the more tedious, less creative and more expensive aspects of filmmaking.
This will allow to reduce costs. This will lower the barrier to entry. This will allow more voices to be heard. “This 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 that “AI is artisanal at best – artisans can learn to make Stickley furniture by sitting next to someone and seeing and imitating their techniques…. artisanal”
It is knowing how to work. The art is to know 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 is already using AI in production
As THR reported, co-CEO Ted Sarandos was asked how the company plans to leverage InterPositive and whether the acquisition will translate into long-term cost savings. “It’s early days for InterPositive but we’re seeing broadly that AGI is starting to have an impact across hundreds of our productions,” he said.He continued, “We produce high-quality output more quickly and effectively than if we were using traditional methods. New-generation AI workflows have now been used in nearly 300 of our titles, with the largest focus to date in post-production. We are leveraging new-generation AI to get truly complex shots and sequences.”According to Sarandos, large-scale crowd scenes and battle sequences are among the areas where generative AI has proven particularly effective.
