Netflix has confirmed it paid $587 million to acquire Ben Affleck’s artificial intelligence company, InterPositive, validating earlier reports about the value of the deal.
The streaming platform disclosed the purchase price in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday. The figure closely matches a Bloomberg report published in March, which estimated the acquisition at about $600 million.
Netflix announced the surprise deal earlier this year but did not disclose its financial details at the time. The latest filing formed part of the company’s expanded second-quarter financial report, following an earlier shareholder letter and preliminary earnings release.
Affleck founded InterPositive in 2022 and served as its chief executive. As part of the agreement, Netflix retained the company’s staff, while Affleck took on an advisory role.
During Netflix’s quarterly earnings interview, co-chief executive Ted Sarandos discussed how the company expects to use the technology. He described generative AI as an increasingly valuable production tool that helps reduce costs while improving efficiency.
Sarandos said AI is already making an impact across hundreds of Netflix productions. He highlighted work carried out by the company’s visual effects and virtual production division, Eyeline, as well as its in-house animation laboratory.
According to Sarandos, generative AI now supports every stage of production, from concept development and pre-visualisation to post-production and final delivery. He said AI-assisted workflows have already been used on around 300 Netflix titles, with most applications taking place during post-production.
He cited large-scale battle scenes and crowd sequences as examples where AI can help filmmakers achieve shots that might otherwise prove too expensive or time-consuming to produce.
Sarandos also revealed that the documentary series The American Experiment includes 17 minutes of AI-enhanced footage, which he said was produced in half the time and at roughly half the cost of previous methods.
Despite the growing use of AI, Sarandos stressed that creative talent remains central to filmmaking.
“It takes great artists to make something great, and AI is not changing that,” he said.
He added that any savings generated through AI would likely be reinvested into producing more content for Netflix, strengthening the company’s long-term growth strategy.
