Cerebras Backer Eclipse Raises $1.3 Billion for Robotics, AI Infrastructure

Venture capital firm Eclipse has raised $1.3 billion to invest in startups working in physical industries such as artificial intelligence infrastructure, manufacturing and defense.

Eclipse, an early backer of Nvidia Corp. rival Cerebras Systems Inc., disclosed the fundraising in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The total includes $720 million for investments in early-stage startups and $591 million for later-stage deals.

Founded in 2015, Eclipse focuses on companies building technologies for the physical world. Its investments include self-driving software startup Wayve -- Eclipse co-led its Series D fundraising in February -- and $6 billion battery supply chain company Redwood Materials Inc. Eclipse founder Lior Susan also sits on the board of AI chipmaker Cerebras, which is expected to go public as soon as April.

The latest $1.3 billion haul is the firm's largest to date, nudging out the $1.23 billion in new funds it raised in 2023.

In a statement, Eclipse said that the firm has spent the past 11 years building an ecosystem of startups focused on national strength, sovereignty and security. "Companies in physical industries are built differently," it said. "We believed that, with the right partners, a new generation of builders could take the baton from the last wave of industrial innovators -- and go even farther."

Eclipse's cash influx comes as investors pour money into so-called hard tech companies, driven by recent innovations in artificial intelligence technologies and geopolitical pressures. One such pressure, spurred by President Donald Trump's emphasis on international tariffs, has led to new efforts to revive US manufacturing. This year, Eclipse co-led a $220 million funding round for American manufacturing startup VulcanForms.

Other companies that have recently attracted VC attention for technology beyond software include nuclear energy upstart Valar Atomics, which just hit a $2 billion valuation, and AI-for-robotics startup Physical Intelligence, which has been in talks for an $11 billion value. Meanwhile, defense tech company Anduril Industries Inc. has been in discussions with investors this year to raise money at a valuation of more than $60 billion.