Netflix has confirmed a major new acquisition that signals a shift in how the streaming giant plans to use AI. On Thursday, the company announced it is buying InterPositive, a technology firm founded by Oscar-winning actor and director Ben Affleck.
Ben Affleck started the Los Angeles-based company in 2022 after watching how early AI models were being developed. Unlike many AI companies that focus on generating video from text, InterPositive creates tools designed to help professional filmmakers with the technical side of their craft.
As part of this deal, Affleck will join Netflix as a senior advisor. The entire InterPositive team, which includes fewer than twenty researchers, engineers, and creative experts, will also move over to Netflix.
While the financial details of the deal were not shared, the timing is interesting. It comes just a week after Netflix decided not to move forward with a massive bid to buy Warner Bros. Discovery. Instead, the company seems to be focusing on building its own internal technology to make production more efficient.
It is important to understand that this technology is not meant to replace actors or writers. Instead, it focuses on “finishing” and “technical cleanup.” In simple terms, this means the AI helps fix small mistakes or adjustments that usually take a long time in post-production.
For example, the tools can help with continuity, which is making sure everything in a scene looks the same even if the shots were filmed hours or days apart. It can also adjust lighting or fix background elements that do not look quite right. InterPositive built its software by filming footage on a controlled soundstage to teach the AI how light and cameras work in the real world.
Netflix executives have been quick to point out that they want these tools to empower workers rather than replace them. This is a sensitive topic in Hollywood, especially after recent strikes where creative professionals expressed fear that AI might take their jobs.
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