{"id":10028,"date":"2026-07-18T23:47:23","date_gmt":"2026-07-18T18:47:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=10028"},"modified":"2026-07-18T23:47:23","modified_gmt":"2026-07-18T18:47:23","slug":"netflix-bought-ben-afflecks-ai-startup-for-587-million","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=10028","title":{"rendered":"Netflix bought Ben Affleck&#8217;s AI startup for $587 million"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"article\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mashable.com\/category\/netflix\" target=\"_blank\" data-ga-click=\"1\" data-ga-label=\"$text\" data-ga-item=\"text-link\" data-ga-module=\"content_body\">Netflix<\/a> paid over half a billion dollars for Ben Affleck&#8217;s AI startup InterPositive, which he founded in 2022.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2026\/film\/news\/netflix-paid-587-million-ben-affleck-ai-interpositive-1236815111\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-ga-click=\"1\" data-ga-label=\"$text\" data-ga-item=\"text-link\" data-ga-module=\"content_body\" title=\"(opens in a new window)\">According to <em>Variety<\/em><\/a>, Netflix&#8217;s Form 10-Q report with the Securities and Exchange Commission disclosed that it paid $587 million in cash for an acquisition in March. While the company they acquired goes unnamed in the report, the InterPositive acquisition was announced on March 5, and a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2026-03-11\/netflix-to-pay-as-much-as-600-million-for-ben-affleck-s-ai-firm\" target=\"_blank\" data-ga-click=\"1\" data-ga-label=\"$text\" data-ga-item=\"text-link\" data-ga-module=\"content_body\" title=\"(opens in a new window)\">Bloomberg report estimated<\/a> that Netflix could have paid up to $600 million.<\/p>\n<div class=\"flex mx-auto mt-8 w-full max-w-3xl font-sans text-lg leading-normal md:text-xl md:leading-7\">\n        <span class=\"font-bold text-primary-400\">SEE ALSO:<\/span><br \/>\n        <a href=\"https:\/\/mashable.com\/entertainment\/gene-wilder-ai-voice-netflix-wonka\" class=\"flex items-center text-secondary-300\"><br \/>\n            <span class=\"ml-1\">Netflix&#8217;s &#8216;Wonka&#8217; reality show will use AI-generated voice of Gene Wilder<\/span><br \/>\n            <svg class=\"ml-1 w-4 h-4 font-normal fill-current\"><use href=\"http:\/\/mashable.com\/images\/icons\/spritemap.svg#sprite-arrow-right-thin\"\/><\/svg><br \/>\n        <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<p>According to the <a href=\"https:\/\/about.netflix.com\/en\/news\/why-interpositive-is-joining-netflix\" target=\"_blank\" data-ga-click=\"1\" data-ga-label=\"$text\" data-ga-item=\"text-link\" data-ga-module=\"content_body\" title=\"(opens in a new window)\">March 5 deal announcement<\/a>, Netflix viewed its acquisition of InterPositive as &#8220;investing in creator-led innovation that keeps filmmakers at the center of the process.&#8221;<\/p>\n<section x-data=\"window.newsletter({ isDeal: false })\" x-init=\"init()\" aria-label=\"Newsletter Sign-Up\" class=\"relative invisible my-12 mx-auto w-full max-w-3xl md:my-16 ziff-component accent-cut-for-gradient-bg accent-cut-border-for-gradient-bg bg-gradient-fuchsia-secondary p-[2px]\">\n<p>\n            <span class=\"text-gradient-fuchsia-secondary\">Mashable Light Speed<\/span>\n        <\/p>\n<\/section>\n<p>In that same announcement, Affleck wrote: &#8220;In 2022, I spent a lot of time observing the early rise of AI in production. As a filmmaker, I could see how these models came up short. For artists to apply these tools towards telling the stories we dedicate our lives to, they need to be purpose-built to represent and protect all the qualities that make a great story.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>In a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=4FBDlAWbOIo\" target=\"_blank\" data-ga-click=\"1\" data-ga-label=\"$text\" data-ga-item=\"text-link\" data-ga-module=\"content_body\" title=\"(opens in a new window)\">video released alongside the acquisition announcement<\/a>, Affleck emphasized that InterPositive was &#8220;not about text prompting or generating something from nothing.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Instead, he explained, InterPositive&#8217;s tools build a model specific to the film being made, which then gets employed during post-production for processes like mixing and coloring. According to Affleck, this would allow filmmakers to focus on performances in the moment.<\/p>\n<p>As <a href=\"https:\/\/deadline.com\/2026\/04\/netflix-ben-affleck-ai-firm-interpositive-film-production-savings-1236770381\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-ga-click=\"1\" data-ga-label=\"$text\" data-ga-item=\"text-link\" data-ga-module=\"content_body\" title=\"(opens in a new window)\">reported by Deadline in April<\/a>, a 2024 patent application filed by Affleck stated that InterPositive&#8217;s technology would yield &#8220;substantial&#8221; savings. It could potentially &#8220;replace&#8221; costs tied to everything from background artists to splinter film units to reshoots, leading to a &#8220;20% reduction in schedule and physical production,&#8221; as well as a 50% reduction in VFX cost.<\/p>\n<section class=\"mx-auto max-w-7xl\">\n<div class=\"flex flex-wrap mt-8 w-full font-sans subtitle-2 editor-content\">\n<p>\n        <span class=\"mr-1.5 font-sans font-bold\">Topics<\/span><br \/>\n                    <a class=\"underline-link hover:no-underline text-secondary-300 mr-1.5\" href=\"https:\/\/mashable.com\/category\/artificial-intelligence\" aria-label=\"Navigate to the Artificial Intelligence tag\" data-ga-click=\"\" data-ga-label=\"$text\">Artificial Intelligence<\/a><br \/>\n                    <a class=\"underline-link hover:no-underline text-secondary-300 \" href=\"https:\/\/mashable.com\/category\/netflix\" aria-label=\"Navigate to the Netflix tag\" data-ga-click=\"\" data-ga-label=\"$text\">Netflix<\/a>\n            <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Netflix paid over half a billion dollars for Ben Affleck&#8217;s AI startup InterPositive, which he founded in 2022. According to Variety, Netflix&#8217;s Form 10-Q report with the Securities and Exchange Commission disclosed that it paid $587 million in cash for an acquisition in March. While the company they acquired goes unnamed in the report, the&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10029,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/helios-i.mashable.com\/imagery\/articles\/04Wk7QPYrfDvqKDtGTVKfcH\/hero-image.fill.size_1200x675.v1784398213.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10028","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-real-trending-viral-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10028","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10028"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10028\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10029"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10028"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10028"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10028"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}