Netflix has acquired InterPositive, an AI startup founded by Hollywood actor Ben Affleck. The streaming giant’s latest acquisition comes shortly after stepping away from a potential deal involving Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). The acquisition brings InterPositive’s 16-member team of engineers, researchers, and creatives into Netflix, while Affleck will join the company as a senior adviser to provide ongoing guidance. However, the terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The purchase comes days after Netflix exited its bid to acquire WBD studios and streaming businesses. The company chose not to submit a counteroffer after Paramount Skydance increased its hostile bid for WBD by $1 per share, thereby raising the offer to $31 per share.
InterPositive develops AI-powered tools designed to support filmmaking. Netflix said the technology offers capabilities that According to a Variety report, the company plans to provide its creative partners with access to the tools and does not currently intend to sell the technology commercially.
What Ben Affleck said about his company and Netflix’s acquisition
In a video that Netflix shared with the acquisition announcement, Affleck said InterPositive does not generate AI video from scratch. He said,
Instead, the system builds an AI model from an existing production’s dailies, which a filmmaker can then bring into post-production to mix and colour, relight shots, and add visual effects.
Affleck founded the Los Angeles-based company in 2022 after observing the early stages of AI’s development in film production. He added,
InterPositive built its first AI model using footage filmed on a controlled soundstage and trained it to understand while accounting for real-world production challenges such as missing shots, background replacements, and incorrect lighting.
Affleck noted.
Netflix chief content officer Bela Bajaria said the technology will give creative partners
Meanwhile, Netflix’s chief product and technology officer, Elizabeth Stone, said the tools are designed to help filmmakers produce higher-quality content and not to make films faster or cheaper.
Stone added.
