Netflix acquires Ben Affleck-founded AI-based film startup InterPositive
Netflix has reportedly acquired InterPositive, a Los Angeles-based AI startup founded by Ben Affleck that develops AI tools for filmmakers. According to Variety on Thursday, March 5, local time, the entire InterPositive team of 16 people—engineers, researchers, and creatives—will join Netflix through the acquisition. The company did not disclose the value of the deal. Affleck will serve as a senior adviser to Netflix to provide ongoing guidance.
Based in Los Angeles, the company was founded by Affleck in 2022 and had operated privately until now.
‘This is not about typing a text prompt or generating something out of nothing,’ Affleck said in a video Netflix shared when announcing the acquisition. ‘AI is often understood as making something from scratch, like typing something into a computer and a film comes out. That's not what we do,’ he added.
Netflix plans to give partner creatives access to InterPositive’s technology and has no plans to sell it commercially on the market.
InterPositive’s system builds an AI model based on daily production dailies of an existing production. The model can then be used in post-production to assist tasks such as colour grading, revising lighting, and adding visual effects.
Netflix Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria said InterPositive’s AI technology will give creators more choice, control, and protection for their artistic vision. ‘Our relationship with artists is always based on trust: supporting their whole spectrum of creativity and ensuring they have control over how their films and series are made,’ Bajaria said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Netflix Chief Product and Technology Officer Elizabeth Stone stated that many generative AI video platforms today are not designed from a filmmaker’s perspective. ‘We always view AI as a technology that should serve the needs of the creative community and our members in a meaningful way,’ Stone said.
Affleck said he began observing early AI developments in film production in 2022 and realised that existing technology did not fully meet artists’ needs. According to him, AI tools for filmmakers must be designed to accurately represent while protecting essential storytelling elements, from cinematography nuances, production challenges, to technical details like lens distortion or lighting changes in a scene.
He emphasised that the human element in storytelling must be preserved. ‘What makes storytelling human is judgement, something built up over decades of experience and something only humans possess,’ he said.
InterPositive then began creating a dedicated dataset by recording production on a controlled sound stage that resembles real film production conditions. Their first AI model was trained to understand ‘visual logic and editing consistency’ while maintaining cinematic rules under real production challenges such as missing scenes, background replacement, or incorrect lighting.
‘We hope to give the broader creative community access to the technology we build and to the future we are pursuing together,’ he said.
The news of Affleck’s AI company acquisition comes a week after Netflix pulled back from attempts to buy Warner Bros. Discovery’s studio and streaming business. Netflix decided not to submit a counteroffer after Paramount Global’s Skydance increased its bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery to $31 per share.
Hollywood Reporter reported that InterPositive’s technology focus is on film-making techniques, not actors’ performances. The tool also allows directors or filmmakers to upload dailies so the AI model can be tailored to a specific project.
Nevertheless, AI technology remains a sensitive topic in Hollywood. Netflix released a video discussion featuring Ben Affleck, Netflix Chief Product and Technology Officer Elizabeth Stone, and Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria.
The acquisition is also a rare move for Netflix, which more often develops technology in-house rather than acquiring other companies. The last prior deal was the acquisition of avatar platform Ready Player Me in December.