Netflix acquires Ben Affleck's AI film production startup.

      InterPositive, a stealth startup founded by Ben Affleck in 2022 and previously unrecognized by the public, develops AI tools for post-production that utilize actual footage instead of text prompts. Netflix is set to acquire the company just as Hollywood unions begin new contract negotiations.

      For the past four years, Affleck has quietly operated a technology business that remained under Hollywood's radar. InterPositive, the AI filmmaking startup he established in 2022 and incorporated under the name Fin Bone LLC, came out of secrecy on Thursday, not via a product release or funding news, but through Netflix's acquisition announcement.

      The timing is notably significant. Netflix is navigating a challenging phase in its mergers and acquisitions strategy, having recently abandoned a bid for Warner Bros. Discovery’s studios and streaming operations.

      This acquisition also coincides with Hollywood unions preparing for a new round of contract discussions with studios, including Netflix. As Deadline describes, any engagement with AI in production is considered a highly sensitive topic in the industry right now.

      Netflix is aware of this context. Alongside the acquisition news, it released a five-minute video featuring Affleck, along with chief content officer Bela Bajaria and chief product and technology officer Elizabeth Stone, likely intended to preempt concerns about the company covertly automating jobs it had previously agreed not to.

      What InterPositive actually does

      Affleck provides a careful explanation that deserves attention before forming a judgment. InterPositive's operations differ significantly from the typical conception of "AI filmmaking."

      It does not create videos from textual descriptions, nor does it generate synthetic actors or performances. Instead, it focuses on a more defined and practically beneficial aspect for directors and cinematographers.

      The company compiled a proprietary training dataset on a controlled soundstage mimicking a real production environment. From this base, it constructed a model designed to grasp what it terms “visual logic and editorial consistency.” This refers to the composition, lighting, and editing rules that create coherence when footage is assembled.

      As a result, the tool works with a production's own dailies rather than fabricating images from the ground up.

      In practical terms, this means directors can utilize InterPositive’s model to adjust lighting for scenes shot under inadequate conditions, seamlessly replace backgrounds without the common inconsistencies found in compositing, eliminate visible rigging from stunt scenes, or salvage shots that were missed during filming.

      These tasks often consume significant amounts of time and resources in post-production. Additionally, they historically require human creative judgment; the tool assists in realizing an existing artistic vision rather than defining it.

      “It’s not about text-prompting or generating something from nothing,” Affleck stated in the Netflix video accompanying the announcement. “AI, people mostly think of it as making something from nothing: I’m gonna type something into a computer and it’s gonna give me a movie. That’s not what this is.”

      Why Affleck built it in secret

      Affleck is not primarily known as a technology entrepreneur; he is an Oscar-winning filmmaker, having co-written Good Will Hunting and directed Argo, which won Best Picture at the 2013 Academy Awards. His interest in AI reportedly stemmed from observing challenges within the industry.

      In 2022, he became concerned about the trajectory of AI development in filmmaking, particularly initiatives from some tech companies that he felt sought to “get the human out of it,” as he expressed in the Netflix video.

      In response, he sought to create the alternative he envisioned: tools that maintain the “judgment” that professional filmmakers accumulate over decades.

      “The kind that takes decades to build, experience to hone, and that only people can have,” he stated in a message published by Netflix on Thursday.

      Throughout the four years, he never publicly referenced the company, despite becoming a notable figure in Hollywood discussing AI, including a well-circulated statement at CNBC’s Delivering Alpha summit in 2024, where he remarked that AI “cannot write you Shakespeare” and suggested its role was that of a “craftsman” rather than a “creative.”

      The audience received it as a contemplative statement. Meanwhile, Ben Affleck had been developing a company.

      Netflix’s strategic logic

      The acquisition marks an unusual move for Netflix, as the company has generally preferred to develop technology internally rather than through acquisitions. Its last significant deal prior to the unsuccessful Warner Bros. Discovery bid was the purchase of avatar creation platform Ready Player Me in December.

      The InterPositive acquisition reportedly originated from a conversation initiated by Affleck with Netflix executives last autumn, capitalizing on a relationship established during the production of The Rip, an action film he co-starred in with Matt Damon that was released in January. This week also saw the formalization of a first-look deal between Netflix and Affleck’s production company, Artists Equity.

      Netflix has confirmed that all 16 members of the InterPositive team will be integrated into the company. It also stated that the technology will be accessible to Netflix’s creative collaborators and notably clarified that it does not intend