When Lior Susan started Eclipse Ventures in 2015, the firm’s thesis of digitizing the physical world wasn’t particularly popular in Silicon Valley.
“It was the era of enterprise software and SaaS, and the first few years felt quite lonely,” Susan said on stage at a recent StrictlyVC event in San Francisco.
More than a decade later, Eclipse finds itself at the center of the tech world’s action. The firm’s $6.5 million Series A investment in Cerebras Systems in 2016 led to a total return of $2.5 billion when the semiconductor company went public this week. According to Eclipse, the firm invested a total of $147 million in Cerebras over time, a bet that generated a 17-fold return on the IPO price of $185 per share.
For Suzanne, the windfall from Cerebras is the beginning of reaping big rewards from a long-held belief that because 85% of global GDP is tied to the physical world, investing in companies beyond pure software can be extremely attractive.
Public markets and startup founders are also now recognizing the value of physical-world technology. Susan said shares of TSMC and Micron have recently hit all-time highs, while a growing group of elite founders are eager to build startups at the intersection of hardware and software.
He said, “I think people understand that the real bugs in the software are gone. You can vibe the code all you want.”
Susan echoed the public market sentiment that drove many SaaS stocks earlier this year on the belief that enterprises can use Anthropic’s cloud code or OpenAI’s latest models to build their own custom software tools.
“What you can’t do with ‘Vibe Code’ is manufacture the wafers, because you need machines and silicon, and they need clean rooms and a lot of other things,” Susan said.
When it comes to technology that touches the physical world, it’s not just semiconductors that are suddenly attracting the attention of investors and founders.
Susan said Eclipse’s portfolio companies spanning sectors such as robotics, energy and defense raised nearly $15 billion from external backers last year, and late-stage momentum alone is expected to reach $4.5 billion in the first quarter of 2026. This investor enthusiasm stands in stark contrast to the company’s early track record: In its first eight years, its portfolio companies raised a combined total of less than $4 billion.
Indeed, recent follow-on rounds in Eclipse’s portfolio show a track record that any venture firm would envy. Driven by massive late-stage deals this year, the amount includes $1.2 billion for Wave, $650 million for True Anomaly, $270 million for Bedrock Robotics and $200 million for Oxide Computers. Additionally, Eclipse was the Series A investor for all four companies.
At first glance, it might seem like investors’ enthusiasm for physical-world technology is driven entirely by AI, whether as an input to infrastructure like chips and data centers, or through the power of AI to ultimately make robotics viable. However, Suzanne argues that there are other powerful tailwinds driving the momentum.
Apart from technology – in this case, AI – what is important for this market to flourish is capital, customer demand, talent and policy. Susan means that along with investors and engineers moving from SaaS to sectors like robotics, semiconductors, space, and mining, the US government is also encouraging these industries through subsidies and favorable regulation.
Susan said, “This is the first time I believe that in America these five forces, starting with Henry Ford and Carnegie, are united.” “For builders like us, this is the best time to build those companies.”
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