Netflix discloses $587M acquisition of Ben Affleck’s AI venture

Netflix confirmed it paid $587 million to acquire Ben Affleck's artificial intelligence company InterPositive, officially revealing the deal value months after reports estimated the purchase at around $600 million.

The streaming giant disclosed the acquisition price in a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing released Friday as part of its detailed second-quarter financial results.

Affleck, who founded InterPositive in 2022 and served as its CEO, joined Netflix in an advisory capacity following the acquisition. The company also absorbed InterPositive's staff as part of the deal.

Netflix expands AI use across hundreds of productions

During Netflix's quarterly earnings interview, co-CEO Ted Sarandos said generative AI is already improving production workflows across hundreds of the platform's projects.

According to Sarandos, AI is being used throughout the production process—from concept development and pre-visualisation to post-production and final delivery. He said the technology is helping Netflix produce higher-quality content faster and more efficiently than traditional methods.

Sarandos added that AI-powered workflows have already been used on roughly 300 Netflix titles, with post-production accounting for the largest share of adoption.

AI helping create complex scenes at lower cost

Sarandos highlighted visual effects, battle scenes and large crowd sequences as areas where AI is proving particularly valuable.

He said many productions previously had to cut expensive scenes due to budget or time constraints, but AI now allows filmmakers to include those sequences while reducing production costs.

As an example, Sarandos revealed that the documentary series The American Experiment features 17 minutes of AI-enhanced footage, produced at roughly half the cost and twice the speed of earlier production methods.

Netflix says AI supports creators, not replaces them

Despite the company's growing investment in AI, Sarandos stressed that technology is intended to support creative professionals rather than replace them.

"It takes great artists to make something great, and AI is not changing that," he said.

Sarandos also said the savings generated through AI are expected to be reinvested into producing more content for Netflix, helping expand its programming while improving audience engagement.