For Eclipse, the $2.5B Cerebras win is just the start of realizing its physical-world thesis

When Lior Susan started Eclipse Ventures successful 2015, the firm’s thesis of digitizing the carnal satellite wasn’t peculiarly fashionable successful Silicon Valley.

“It was the epoch of endeavor bundle and SaaS, and it felt reasonably lonely the archetypal mates of years,” Susan said connected signifier astatine a caller StrictlyVC lawsuit successful San Francisco.

More than a decennary later, Eclipse finds itself astatine the halfway of the tech world’s action. The firm’s $6.5 cardinal Series A concern successful Cerebras Systems successful 2016 paved the mode for a full instrumentality of $2.5 cardinal erstwhile the semiconductor institution went nationalist this week. The steadfast invested a full of $147 cardinal successful Cerebras implicit time, a stake that generated a 17-fold instrumentality astatine the IPO terms of $185 per share, according to Eclipse.

For Susan, the windfall from Cerebras is lone the opening of reaping large rewards from a longstanding content that due to the fact that 85% of planetary GDP is tied to the carnal world, investing successful companies beyond axenic bundle could beryllium immensely lucrative.

Public markets and startup founders look to beryllium recognizing the worth of physical-world tech now, too. Susan noted that shares of TSMC and Micron precocious deed all-time highs, portion a increasing cohort of elite founders are anxious to physique startups astatine the intersection of hardware and software.

“I deliberation radical recognize that the existent moat successful bundle is gone. You tin vibe codification beauteous overmuch immoderate you want,” helium said.

Susan echoed nationalist marketplace sentiment that earlier this twelvemonth sent galore SaaS stocks tumbling connected the content that enterprises whitethorn usage Anthropic’s Claude Code oregon OpenAI’s latest models to make their ain bespoke bundle tools instead.

“What you cannot bash with ‘vibe code’ is manufacture wafers, due to the fact that you request machines and silicon, and they request cleanable rooms, and a clump of different things,” Susan said.

When it comes to the tech that touches the carnal world, it’s not conscionable semiconductors that are abruptly catching the attraction of investors and founders.

Eclipse’s portfolio companies spanning sectors similar robotics, vigor and defense, raised astir $15 cardinal from extracurricular backers past year, and that late-stage momentum reached $4.5 cardinal successful Q1 2026 alone, Susan said. That capitalist excitement stands successful stark opposition to the firm's aboriginal way record: successful its archetypal 8 years, its portfolio companies raised little than $4 cardinal successful total.

Indeed, the caller follow-on rounds crossed Eclipse’s portfolio amusement a way grounds that immoderate task steadfast would envy. Driven by a drawstring of monolithic late-stage deals this year, the haul includes $1.2 cardinal for Wayve, $650 cardinal for True Anomaly, $270 cardinal for Bedrock Robotics, and $200 cardinal for Oxide Computer. What’s more, Eclipse was the Series A capitalist for each 4 companies.

At archetypal glance, it whitethorn look that capitalist enthusiasm for physical-world tech is driven purely by AI, whether arsenic an infrastructure input similar chips and information centers, oregon done AI’s powerfulness to yet marque robotics viable. However, Susan argues that determination are different almighty tailwinds driving the momentum.

Besides exertion — successful this case, AI — what’s important for this marketplace to thrive is capital, lawsuit demand, talent, and policy. Susan means that on with investors and engineers moving distant from SaaS to sectors similar robotics, semiconductors, space, and mining, the U.S. authorities is besides encouraging these industries done subsidies and favorable regulation.

“This is the archetypal clip I judge successful America ever, from Henry Ford and Carnegie, those 5 forces are aligned,” Susan said. “For builders similar us, this is the champion clip to physique those companies.”