Ben Affleck's AI company is sold for more than $500 million

Netflix has revealed conscionable however large it is betting connected artificial intelligence, shelling retired much than fractional a cardinal dollars for 1 of the aboriginal AI movers successful Hollywood.

In March, the Los Gatos-based institution announced it was acquiring Ben Affleck’s AI movie tech company, InterPositive. A caller securities filing shows that the streaming elephantine paid $587 cardinal for the “Good Will Hunting” actor’s company. The disclosure was made past week successful a Netflix filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

InterPositive was founded successful 2022, erstwhile Affleck began to interest astir however AI could impact the movie industry.

The institution is focused connected processing “AI-powered tools built by and for filmmakers” and utilizing caller exertion to “protect and grow originative choice,” according to Netflix’s quality merchandise successful March. The streamer said it is “investing successful creator-led innovation that keeps filmmakers astatine the halfway of the process” and that the tech volition beryllium exclusive to Netflix.

Netflix declined to remark connected the disclosure astir the worth of its acquisition.

Last week, during the company’s net call, Netflix co-Chief Executive Ted Sarandos said its enactment with InterPositive is lone beginning.

“It’s aboriginal days for InterPositive, but we’re broadly seeing that [generative AI] is starting to person an interaction crossed hundreds of our productions,” Sarandos said.

He said that astir 300 productions presently usage AI successful their process. The institution uses the exertion mostly successful postproduction processes and uses generative AI for “really analyzable shots and sequences,” Sarandos said during the call.

“We’re making higher prime output much rapidly and efficiently than we could person utilizing accepted methods,” helium said.

He cited the humanities documentary “The American Experiment,” connected which Tom Hanks served arsenic the enforcement producer, arsenic an example.

The docuseries featured 17 minutes of “AI-enhanced” footage, according to Sarandos, that were produced “twice arsenic accelerated and astatine fractional the outgo of erstwhile options.”

As portion of the acquisition, Netflix said it volition bring connected InterPositive’s full squad and support Affleck arsenic a elder advisor.

The company’s concern successful AI comes arsenic Netflix is facing uncertainty.

Ever since Netflix shared its second-quarter net report, its banal terms has plunged. On Monday, its banal fell 2% to $67.60.

Its second-quarter results renewed concerns among investors and analysts astir the streamer’s aboriginal growth.

Netflix besides narrowed its 2026 forecast to a scope of $51 cardinal to $51.4 cardinal from $50.7 cardinal to $51.7 billion.

When launching InterPositive, Affleck said helium wanted to support “storytelling human.” So helium partnered with a radical of engineers to make a proprietary dataset connected a soundstage to physique its archetypal AI model.

He said the exemplary is “trained to recognize ocular logic and editorial consistency, portion preserving cinematic rules nether real-world accumulation challenges similar missing shots, inheritance replacements oregon incorrect lighting,” each portion “keeping originative decisions successful the hands of artists.”

Much of Hollywood is captious of the exertion and skeptical of the larger companies successful the space.

The Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, the actors national of which Affleck is simply a member, precocious negotiated a caller declaration with large studios, which secured caller AI guardrails. The caller guidelines govern however studios should usage generative AI and powerfully favour “human performances.”

On the other end, arguable AI instauration Tilly Norwood was formed successful her archetypal authoritative relation this month. The bot, created by Particle 6, volition prima successful a drama play called “Misaligned.”

Times staff writer Wendy Lee contributed to this report.