Sep 21, 2026 · 48 min
Eclipse bets industrial complexity can beat software scale
Eclipse's Lior Susan on $12.5B AUM and the Bet on Physical Industries
As investment and policy turn toward reshoring, defense, energy, and infrastructure, Eclipse offers a case for building companies where capital and engineering create durable advantages.
- 1Eclipse pairs venture capital with hands-on operating support across manufacturing, defense, robotics, energy, and infrastructure.
- 2Physical businesses can defend their markets through capital intensity, technical complexity, supply chains, and real customer demand.
- 3Interconnected industrial companies may generate regional economic flywheels, from data centers and energy to jobs, housing, and services.
Don't miss
Susan connects his investment philosophy to teenage work on a banana farm, where harvesting and welding equipment first sharpened his identity as a builder.
The brief
Lior Susan explains why Eclipse built an investment platform around physical industries while much of Silicon Valley concentrated on SaaS, software, and lighter business models.
Eclipse operates less like a passive venture fund than a company-building partner, bringing expertise in manufacturing, supply chains, capital expenditures, policy, debt, and hiring.
Susan argues that capital intensity and engineering complexity can create stronger barriers than software alone, making free cash flow more revealing than gross margin.
The firm’s portfolio spans chips, automation, servers, data centers, energy, defense, and infrastructure, with multiple connected companies forming an industrial flywheel.
Susan’s story ends where his builder identity began: on a banana farm, where harvesting and welding equipment made physical work a lasting part of his worldview.
Featuring
Eclipse
United States
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