Months after keeping the terms under wraps, Netflix has confirmed in a regulatory filing that it spent $587 million in cash to acquire a little-known AI filmmaking startup — and the final cost could climb even higher if the company hits its targets.

When Netflix first announced it was acquiring the AI studio back in March, the streaming giant kept the price under wraps and offered only a broad outline of what would happen next. It confirmed that the acquired company's small, 16-person team would move over to Netflix, and that its co-founder — actor and director Ben Affleck — would step into an advisory role rather than an operating one. The exact dollar figure remained a mystery until now, when the company's own regulatory paperwork spelled out the cash amount for the first time.

The acquired company operated almost entirely out of public view since its founding in 2022, developing software that leans on raw production footage — the unedited daily material shot on set — to automate parts of the post-production pipeline. Its tools were designed to help filmmaking crews re-light scenes after the fact, layer in visual effects, and handle other finishing work that traditionally requires large specialist teams and long timelines.

Because the startup never sought public attention, outside reporting has not turned up any record of it raising outside investment before the sale, suggesting Netflix effectively bought a self-funded operation rather than one backed by venture capital.

Reporting on the transaction has indicated that the total value of the arrangement could rise to roughly $600 million once performance-based conditions are factored in. That gap between the confirmed cash figure and the ceiling suggests the deal includes incentive structures tied to milestones — a common way for acquirers to hedge their bets on unproven technology while still motivating the founding team to deliver results.

The acquisition is not an isolated experiment. Netflix has told its shareholders that generative AI tools are now woven into nearly every stage of how it makes shows and films — from early concept development and previsualization work through to post-production and final release. The company estimates that around 300 of its titles are using generative AI in some capacity this year alone, a scale that signals AI-assisted production has moved well past the pilot stage and into everyday studio workflow.