Ben Affleck just made $587 million after selling his secret AI company to Netflix
Ben Affleck has developed a secret AI tool aimed to assist filmmakers in the post-production process, and he's just sold it to Netflix for $587 million in a move that the streaming service claims will enhance the process.
Founded in 2022 by the iconic actor, InterPositive had been operated in 'stealth mode' for a number of years, as per Variety, before being acquired for a hefty fee by the leading streaming service.
It serves as another deal that makes the integration of AI into the filmmaking process seem like an inevitability despite significant opposition from many figures within the industry, although Affleck is far from the only prominent director to express an interest in the software.
While Netflix aims to use the acquisition to keep "filmmakers at the center of the process," which some have taken to mean that the development of these tools will be made by creatives themselves as opposed to companies outside of the industry, it is still likely to garner backlash with many viewing it as antithetical to the process as a whole.
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The floodgates have already been opened when it comes to AI generated content on Netflix – or at least, content in which generative AI has been used to assist filmmakers during the creative process – with co-CEO Ted Sarandos indicating that roughly 300 films and TV shows on the streaming platform have used the tech in some way this year so far.
Sarandos has suggested that he doesn't have a desire to 'replace' human work with AI, but only to enhance the speed and lower the cost of these processes, especially in the post production stage.
He claimed that InterPositive allows Netflix productions to move "twice as fast and at half the cost of previous options," but indicates that "we believe it takes great artists to make something great, and AI is not changing that.
"Movies are being made by people who make movies," Sarandos added, arguing that "AI provides them with better tools to make them even better."
In terms of what InterPositive actually offers filmmakers, it gives creatives the tools to build their own AI models using production dailies during active shoots, which then enhance processes involving mixing, visual effects, and relighting shots — all of which occur in the post-production phase.
Affleck and those who had previously invested in InterPositive could be due for a payday of up to $600 billion despite the deal going through for less, as there appear to be several 'performance targets' implemented as part of the acquisition that would see the actor-turned-director make more money over time.