Investor Profile: Eclipse Ventures — Thesis, Cheque Size & How to Apply

Eclipse Ventures is a Palo Alto-based venture firm that has spent a decade betting that the biggest technology opportunities lie in the physical world — manufacturing, semiconductors, robotics, energy, defence and infrastructure — rather than pure software. Founded in 2015 by Lior Susan, the firm describes itself as "Operators with Capital", and it has recently made that thesis a standalone venture category with $1.3 billion in new funds dedicated to what it calls Physical AI.

Thesis. Eclipse invests in full-stack deep tech: companies where AI meets atoms. Susan has argued for years that roughly 85% of global GDP is tied to physical industries, so businesses beyond conventional software can be far more valuable than the market assumed.. The firm sees five forces aligned behind it: AI advances, investor capital, customer demand, talent moving into industrial sectors, and supportive government policy.

Sectors and stages. Eclipse covers pre-seed through Series B/C. Its early-stage fund targets pre-seed, seed and Series A, while its early-growth fund backs breakout portfolio companies and new Series B/C opportunities in core sectors: manufacturing, supply chain, transportation, semiconductor, energy, defence, and healthcare infrastructure.

Fund size and cheque size. In 2026 Eclipse closed $1.3 billion across two funds — a $591 million early-stage fund (Fund VI) and a larger later-stage vehicle (Early Growth III) — taking total assets under management to roughly $10 billion. An earlier 2023 raise had totalled $1.23 billion ($720 million Fund V plus $510 million Early Growth II).

Notable portfolio. The portfolio's centrepiece is Cerebras: a $6.5 million Series A investment in 2016 that grew to roughly $2.5 billion — a 17-fold return at the IPO price of $185 per share. Recent follow-on rounds where Eclipse was the Series A investor include Wayve ($1.2 billion), True Anomaly ($650 million), Bedrock Robotics ($270 million) and Oxide Computer ($200 million). Other holdings include Redwood Materials, Arc, Mind Robotics and Efficient Computer, which announced a $97 million Series B at a $650 million valuation. Eclipse says its portfolio companies raised nearly $15 billion from outside investors over the past year.

Partners and people. Founder and CEO Lior Susan sits on the Cerebras board; co-founder Pierre Lamond is also a key figure. The team is deliberately operator-heavy — manufacturing veterans, hardware engineers and supply-chain specialists, including former Tesla production leadership — so diligence and company-building are done by people who have run factories and shipped physical product.

Programs and perks. Eclipse does not run a public accelerator; its founder support is its operating model — shared manufacturing relationships, customer networks and a cross-portfolio operating bench that helps startups move from prototype to production faster.

How to apply for funding. Eclipse has no published open application form. Founders in its core sectors typically reach the firm via warm introductions through the physical-economy network or via the contact routes on eclipse.vc. Because the firm also incubates companies, it is worth pitching even before a company exists — but only if the idea sits in the physical world it backs.