Eclipse raises $1.3B for AI infrastructure and defense startups

Investing.com -- 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 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 and 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 this month.

The latest $1.3 billion haul is the firm's largest to date, surpassing 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."

Other companies that have recently attracted VC attention for technology beyond software include nuclear energy startup Valar Atomics, which hit a $2 billion valuation, and AI-for-robotics startup Physical Intelligence, which has been in talks for an $11 billion value. 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.

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