What Eclipse does

Eclipse (legal name Eclipse Ventures, dba Eclipse Capital) is a Palo Alto-based venture capital firm founded in April 2015 by Lior Susan, focused exclusively on the physical economy — the manufacturing, transportation, energy, defense, supply chain, healthcare, and advanced compute industries that produce and move real-world goods and infrastructure. The firm backs operator-founders building capital-intensive companies at the intersection of physical systems and software, autonomy, and AI. As of April 2026, Eclipse manages approximately $10 billion in assets under management across its flagship Early-Stage Fund VI ($720M), Early Growth Fund III ($591M), and earlier vehicles.

Eclipse's core product platform comprises three investment vehicles, an internal company-creation program, and supporting infrastructure for limited partners and portfolio talent. The Early-Stage fund deploys seed and Series A capital; the Early Growth fund leads Series B–D rounds; and the Eclipse Venture Equity program (launched June 2022) incubates 4–5 industrial startups per year with internal "Venture Founders" before leading their seed rounds. Supporting infrastructure includes a private LP Portal (eclipse.arkpes.com), a portfolio-wide careers job board, and the Eclipse Carbon Optimization (ECO) Framework for measuring portfolio environmental impact. Notable portfolio holdings include Cerebras Systems (IPO May 2026 at $185/share, generating a 17x return on $147M), Wayve, True Anomaly, VulcanForms, Bedrock Robotics, Oxide, Cellares, Also (a Rivian spinoff), Redwood Materials, and Blue Water Autonomy.

Eclipse generates revenue through conventional venture fund economics: management fees (typically ~1.5–2% of AUM annually) plus carried interest on fund profits above the LP hurdle. Capital is raised from top-tier institutional LPs, primarily university endowments and foundations, who committed to the $1.3B April 2026 fund close. The firm operates two US offices — Palo Alto (headquarters) and New York City — with a roughly 30-person team composed predominantly of former operators from Tesla, Rivian, GE, Apple, Samsara, Cisco, and Flextronics. Distribution and deal sourcing are direct and founder-relationship-driven rather than outbound, supported by a community network of portfolio leaders, operators, manufacturers, customers, and government stakeholders.

Name

Eclipse

Legal name

Eclipse Ventures

Website

https://eclipse.capital

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Eclipse is a Palo Alto-based venture capital firm managing approximately $10 billion in assets to back operator-founders building companies in the physical economy — manufacturing, robotics, defense, energy, transportation, and advanced compute — through early-stage and early-growth funds plus an internal company-incubation program.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Technology & Software Growth Equity (FSANACAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Impact / ESG Venture Capital (FSANAAAG), Business Services (B2B) Growth Equity (FSANACAD)

Keywords

• Venture capital funds
• Early-stage investing
• Growth-stage investing
• Physical industries investment
• Company incubation services

Headquarters

HQ city

Palo Alto

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Fund management and carried interest: Eclipse generates revenue primarily through management fees and carried interest from its venture capital funds, including the recently closed $720M Fund VI and $591M Early Growth Fund III, alongside earlier Fund IV, Fund V, and Early Growth Fund I/II vehicles.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Core offering

Eclipse is a venture capital firm that invests in and helps build companies in the physical economy — including physical AI, robotics, advanced manufacturing, transportation, energy, defense, supply chain, and healthcare. Its offering is structured around flagship Early-Stage and Early Growth funds, an internal Venture Equity program that incubates startups with operator Venture Founders, and an LP-facing investor platform. The firm generates revenue through fund management fees and carried interest on its venture vehicles.

Product overview

Eclipse Capital (eclipse.capital) is a venture capital firm, not a traditional software product company — its core offering is a platform-plus-modules architecture of investment services rather than a single unified software product. The architecture is anchored by two flagship venture funds — the $720M Eclipse Fund VI (Early-Stage, for seed/Series A) and the $591M Early Growth Fund III (for Series B–D) — which together deploy capital across physical-AI, robotics, advanced manufacturing, transportation, energy, infrastructure, compute, and defense. Layered on top of these funds is the Eclipse Venture Equity Program, an internal company-building platform launched in 2022 that incubates four to five industrial startups per year with operator 'Venture Founders.' Supporting investor infrastructure includes the Eclipse LP Portal (a private LP-facing portal at eclipse.arkpes.com) and the Portfolio Careers talent platform. The Eclipse Companies Portfolio aggregates ~90 portfolio companies (the 'Eclipse Economy') organized into industry verticals such as Advanced Compute (Cerebras, Oxide, AheadComputing), Transportation & Mobility (Wayve, Also), Manufacturing (VulcanForms, Bright Machines, Uptool), Defense & Security (True Anomaly, Ursa Major, Blue Water Autonomy), Logistics & Supply Chain (Mytra, 6 River Systems), Healthcare (Capstan Medical, Watchmaker Genomics), and Energy & Electrification (Redwood Materials). Cross-cutting these offerings is the Eclipse Carbon Optimization (ECO) Framework for measuring portfolio environmental impact. The funds deploy capital; Venture Equity creates companies; the LP Portal serves LPs; Portfolio Careers channels talent; and the ECO Framework measures impact — together forming an integrated venture platform centered on the physical economy.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Eclipse Venture Equity: A company-building program at Eclipse that incubates and builds new industrial-technology companies from scratch alongside the firm's Early-Stage and Early Growth funds.

Products and services

• Eclipse Fund VI (Early-Stage Fund) A $720 million early-stage venture capital fund that invests in seed and Series A startups focused on physical AI, robotics, advanced manufacturing, transportation, energy, infrastructure, compute, and defense. The fund is offered to institutional LPs.
• Eclipse Early Growth Fund III A $591 million growth-stage venture capital fund that leads Series B, C, and D rounds in existing portfolio companies and selected new investments across physical industries. The fund is offered to institutional LPs.
• Eclipse Venture Equity Program An in-house company-building platform launched in June 2022 that partners 4–5 top-tier operators as Venture Founders at a time to build and incubate industrial startups from scratch inside Eclipse, then leads their seed rounds. Targets physical-industry founders with a company-creation rather than external investment approach.

Quantifiable outcome

• $2.5 billion total return on Cerebras investment (17x return on $147M invested)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers21 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability1 record

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered flagship strategic relationship, flagship portfolio customer relationship and flagship commercial partner.

• Rivianflagship strategic relationshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerEclipse partnered with Rivian to spin out and incubate Also, a micromobility company, with the platform conceived inside Rivian and developed there for three years before being spun out as an independent company fully backed by Eclipse. Former Specialized executive Chris Yu serves as Also's President.
• Bristol Myers Squibbflagship portfolio customer relationshipOthersBristol Myers Squibb is a major commercial customer of Cellares (an Eclipse portfolio company), holding a $380M global manufacturing agreement for CAR T-cell therapies using Cellares' Cell Shuttle and Cell-Q platforms.
• DoorDashflagship commercial partnerOthersDoorDash invested in Also (an Eclipse portfolio company spun out of Rivian) and entered a multi-year strategic partnership to advance autonomous last-mile delivery using Also's TM-B e-bike platform. DoorDash co-founder Stanley Tang joined as a board observer.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Lux Capital: Lux Capital is a deep-tech venture firm focused on hard-tech, science, and physical-world companies — the closest analog to Eclipse's physical-economy thesis. Both firms invest in robotics, advanced manufacturing, defense, and space, and both emphasize scientific and operator-led sourcing.
• DCVC (Data Collective): DCVC is a deep-tech and science-driven venture firm investing in compute, advanced materials, manufacturing, and life sciences. Its focus on engineering-led companies in physical industries is structurally similar to Eclipse's physical-economy mandate.

Broad incumbents

• Founders Fund: Founders Fund is a large, established venture firm that invests across frontier tech, defense, and hard-tech categories where Eclipse also concentrates. While broader than Eclipse, its SpaceX, Anduril, and defense exposure makes it a frequently overlapping co-investor and competitor.
• Kleiner Perkins: Kleiner Perkins is a storied tech venture firm with strong franchises in green tech, healthcare, and frontier tech. Its recent leadership of Mind Robotics' $400M round (with Eclipse participation) positions it as a frequent co-investor and direct competitor in physical AI.
• Andreessen Horowitz (a16z): Andreessen Horowitz is a broad, multi-stage venture firm with active franchises in AI infrastructure, defense (American Dynamism), and hard tech — all categories where Eclipse invests. a16z's large fund size and growing physical-economy practice position it as a significant competitor at later stages.
• General Catalyst: General Catalyst is a multi-stage venture firm with active investment in defense (via the 'Global Resilience' and 'Defend' themes), industrial automation, and healthcare. Its breadth and later-stage checks make it a direct competitor for Eclipse's growth-stage deals.
• Sequoia Capital: Sequoia Capital is one of the most established venture firms with global reach into AI infrastructure, climate, and frontier tech. While broader than Eclipse, its participation in rounds like Wayve makes it a relevant peer for late-stage physical AI and autonomy deals.

Emerging players

• Construct Capital: Construct Capital is an emerging venture firm specifically focused on industrials, manufacturing, and the 'rebuilding of America' thesis — a near-direct overlap with Eclipse's physical-economy focus, though at a smaller fund size and earlier stage.
• Energy Impact Partners: Energy Impact Partners is a venture and growth firm investing across energy transition, electrified transport, and industrial decarbonization. It co-invested with Eclipse in Humble's $24M seed round and shares focus areas in electrification and mobility.

Others

• Greentown Labs: Greentown Labs is a hard-tech and cleantech incubator/ecosystem-builder, complementary rather than directly competitive with Eclipse. It serves as a community and prototyping hub for many of the same physical-industry founders Eclipse backs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/eclipseventures
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/eclipse-vc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles25 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments230 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Eclipse